Paul Adom-Otchere, the Host of Good Evening Ghana, has said that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) are afraid of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
According to Adom-Otchere, the NDC’s posture toward the OSP is driven less by legal concerns but rather by the fear of the OSP’s perceived independence from political control.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Paul Adom-Otchere argued, “The reason why they are complaining about the OSP now is because of the OSP’s indicative independence from politicians. They saw the OSP do it to NPP.
“They enjoyed it. They have seen that this OSP is not shifting. He will do it to NDC, and they are afraid,” he said.
In related news, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority in parliament, at a press conference, has alleged that there are political weapons aimed at dismantling the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
According to the Minority, the legal and political actions targeting the Office of the Special Prosecutor are a coordinated effort aimed at weakening the institution.
The Member of Parliament for Gushegu and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, Hassan Tampuli, speaking on behalf of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority at a press conference, highlighted a series of petitions, parliamentary moves and court cases as the “political weapons” aimed at dismantling the OSP.
Hassan Tampuli, addressing the press, stated, “The petitions were not serious legal instruments. They were political weapons designed to harass, delegitimise, and remove from office a public servant whose crime was that he was doing his job”.
He also alleged that the petitions submitted to President John Mahama seeking the removal of the Special Prosecutor were “coordinated and strategically timed”.
“Three referred formally to the Chief Justice. Zero prima facie case established,” he stated.
According to him, there is the “third phase” of a sustained strategy to weaken the institution through different legal channels, with a private legal practitioner challenging the constitutionality of the OSP’s prosecutorial powers.
“When you cannot kill an institution by statute, you attempt to do so through constitutional litigation,” he argued.
It will be recalled that the Accra High Court ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has no authority to prosecute cases.
The High Court ruling stripped the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of its prosecutorial powers, handing them to the Attorney General (AG) to take over all criminal prosecutions.
On Wednesday, April 15, the High Court ruling was delivered, representing a significant development in Ghana’s legal and anti-corruption landscape.
Also, the court declared that all ongoing prosecutions initiated by the OSP are null and void, a decision that immediately halts multiple high-profile and ongoing cases being tried in various courts across the country.