Agyebeng links attacks on OSP to discomfort over its investigative powers

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has linked what he describes as coordinated attacks on the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to discomfort among some public officers over the institution’s independent investigative powers.

According to him, the OSP’s ability to independently determine who to investigate and which corruption cases to pursue has generated resistance from some quarters.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Kissi Agyebeng said the OSP had conducted an internal assessment of criticisms levelled against the institution and acknowledged that it had made mistakes in the course of its work.

“We acknowledge that we have made mistakes. We do not claim to be a perfect institution,” he indicated.

He, however, argued that such mistakes did not justify calls to dismantle an institution established to fight corruption.

“If the basis of collapsing a public agency is that the entity in question committed common mistakes in the ordinary course of its work, then every public institution in Ghana should immediately be shut down,” he stated.

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Agyebeng said the OSP’s internal assessment had led it to conclude that the sustained attacks were largely connected to its mandate and the powers vested in the institution.

“Our introspection leads us to conclude rather startlingly... that the coordinated attacks against the OSP to shut it down or at least render it ineffectual are largely traceable to what the office stands for and its powers and functions,” he noted.

He identified the OSP’s independent investigative and prosecutorial powers as particular sources of discomfort for some public officers.

“These functions and powers of the OSP represent such a spectrum of discomfort among some public officers that they would rather see the office abolished,” he said.

The Special Prosecutor maintained that the OSP remains open to legitimate criticism and is willing to correct mistakes identified in its operations.

He nevertheless rejected what he described as efforts to undermine the institution or weaken the powers that allow it to independently investigate corruption cases and prosecute offences within its mandate.

MRA/EB

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