BY Issah Olegor
The legal battle over the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has taken another turn after the High Court in Accra adjourned proceedings on the OSP’s application for a stay of execution of an earlier ruling that declared its prosecutorial powers unconstitutional without authorization from the Attorney-General.
The matter, which was scheduled for hearing before Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu, could not proceed after the court was informed that lawyers for the respondent were unable to attend the sitting.
According to proceedings in court, state attorneys representing the OSP appeared ready to move the application seeking to suspend the enforcement of the controversial ruling pending further legal action.
However, the presiding judge informed the parties that correspondence had been received from the respondent’s side indicating their inability to appear before the court on the scheduled date.
The respondent’s legal team subsequently proposed three alternative dates — May 28, May 29, or June 8, 2026 — for the hearing of the application. After considering the options, the court selected June 8, 2026, as the new date for hearing the matter.
As a result, the OSP’s application for stay of execution was formally adjourned to June 8.
The latest adjournment comes amid escalating legal and political controversy surrounding the powers of the OSP following a landmark High Court ruling delivered on April 15, 2026.
In that earlier decision, Justice Nyante Nyadu held that the OSP lacks the constitutional authority to independently initiate and conduct criminal prosecutions without authorization from the Attorney-General.
The court subsequently directed that all prosecutions initiated by the OSP be transferred to the Attorney-General’s Department and declared ongoing prosecutions by the anti-corruption body null and void unless properly authorized.
The ruling has generated widespread national debate over the independence and future of the OSP, which was established in 2017 under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) to investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences involving public officials.
In response to the judgment, the OSP strongly disagreed with the court’s interpretation and immediately announced steps to challenge the decision. The office has maintained that only the Supreme Court of Ghana has the authority to declare portions of an Act of Parliament unconstitutional, insisting that Act 959 remains valid and enforceable until the apex court rules otherwise.
The ongoing legal dispute is closely tied to the high-profile Republic v. Issah Seidu & 3 Others case, popularly referred to as the “rice scandal” case, which has become the focal point of the broader constitutional debate over the prosecutorial authority of the OSP.
With the stay of execution application now delayed until June 8, uncertainty remains over the status of several ongoing OSP prosecutions, while legal observers await what is expected to become a decisive constitutional showdown before the Supreme Court.
