I have read many comments today criticising the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and/or the Special Prosecutor (SP) over an invitation extended to Martin Kpebu, Esq., and a presenter from TV3 regarding certain comments said to have been made by Mr. Kpebu on TV3.
I have since gone back to read the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), and here is what I think:
- The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has a mandate to investigate corruption and corruption-related offences.
- If an allegation of corruption is made against an officer of the OSP, including the Special Prosecutor (SP) himself, the OSP still has the mandate to investigate the allegation.
- What cannot happen, and will obviously not happen, is that the officer accused of corruption will play any role in the investigations.
- If the allegation of corruption is made against the SP, and for that reason the SP must recuse himself from the investigations, there is a Deputy Special Prosecutor (DSP) who has the mandate to “act in the absence of the Special Prosecutor.”
- If Mr. Kpebu, or anybody else for that matter, has evidence of corruption, stated misbehaviour, or incompetence against the SP, they have every right under the law to petition the President for the removal of the SP in line with the provisions of Act 959.
- Nothing stops Mr. Kpebu from submitting a petition to the President for the removal of the SP.
- What we should not encourage is the use of media platforms to accuse the SP of corruption without either providing evidence or, more importantly, without submitting a petition to the President for the removal of the SP or any other officer of the OSP.
- Being invited by the OSP to assist in the investigation of an allegation of corruption made against the SP is not the same as the SP being a judge in his own cause. The SP is not the same as the institution called the OSP, and there is no indication that the SP is the one going to interrogate Mr. Kpebu.
- We are all free to criticise the OSP and the SP. But let us educate the public properly, and by all means let us use the legal options available to all citizens to seek redress against the SP if we have evidence of corruption, incompetence, or any wrongdoing. We should not seek to tie the hands of the OSP while using media platforms to undermine its credibility in the eyes of the public.
Thank you.
Kwaku Antwi-Boasiako
Accra, 18/11/2025