Former Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has asserted that during his tenure under the immediate past New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, he personally granted the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) the authority to prosecute cases, countering claims that the office lacked the necessary legal authorisation.
Speaking in an interview with Evans Mensah on the Justice and Politics programme on the Joy News channel, Mr. Dame explained that Section 4 of the OSP Act (Act 959) clearly recognises the Attorney-General’s authority to authorise prosecutions by the OSP, and that this provision aligns with Article 88 of the Constitution.
“There is no inconsistency between the OSP Act and the Constitution. The Attorney-General’s prerogative to authorise prosecutions is recognised, and the OSP can only prosecute with that authorisation,” he said.
He further clarified that the question of whether the OSP has authorisation is a matter of law, not a constitutional issue.
He pointed to legislative instruments, particularly LI 2374—the Special Procedures (Prosecution) Regulations—which explicitly delegate prosecutorial authority to the Special Prosecutor.
“Even if the delegation were considered insufficient, all the Attorney-General has to do is execute an instrument granting authority. That is a straightforward, five-minute function,” Mr. Dame added.
According to the former AG, his tenure included instances where he personally executed executive instruments to empower individuals to prosecute cases on behalf of state agencies such as the Forestry Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the OSP.
He argued that similar actions could easily be taken to enable the OSP to operate effectively.
Mr. Dame criticised what he described as an apparent reluctance by current authorities to grant the OSP the necessary authorisation, suggesting that this has led to judicial challenges aimed at undermining the office.
“The moral conclusion is clear: the unwillingness to execute the necessary authorisations shows a lack of interest in ensuring that the Special Prosecutor functions and fights corruption,” he said.
The former Attorney-General also expressed frustration that civil society and the media have, at times, relied on a single perspective when assessing government actions on corruption, noting that this can distort public understanding of the OSP’s mandate and functionality.
Mr. Dame’s remarks come amid ongoing debates over the legal authority of the Special Prosecutor to independently prosecute cases, with the government facing scrutiny over its role in facilitating or constraining the office’s operations.
In April 2026, an Accra High Court ruled that the OSP cannot independently prosecute cases without the authorisation of the Attorney General, and a similar challenge is pending at the Supreme Court, over the independence of the OSP to prosecute cases without the express authorisation of the Attorney General.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com