‘Nothing the OSP has done so far is invalidated’ — Samson Lardy Anyenini

Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has clarified that the Supreme Court's unanimous dismissal of the constitutional challenge to the Office of the Special Prosecutor's (OSP) prosecutorial powers does not invalidate any of the anti-graft body's past actions or court proceedings.

Anyenini, the unanimous ruling settles the legal uncertainty surrounding the OSP's prosecutorial mandate by affirming that, under Ghana's constitutional framework, the Attorney General retains the exclusive authority to prosecute criminal offences, while the OSP may exercise prosecutorial powers with the necessary authorisation.

The ruling is expected to clear the way for the OSP to proceed with several high-profile corruption cases while reinforcing calls for constitutional reforms that would grant the anti-corruption agency greater prosecutorial independence.