OSP Hails President Mahama for Halting Move to Abolish Anti-Corruption Office

The commendation is contained in the OSP’s Half Yearly Report for December 2025, sighted by The Chronicle.

According to the report, President Mahama’s public call for the withdrawal of a private member’s bill seeking to scrap the OSP reaffirmed Ghana’s national commitment to accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.

Last year, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, and the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Dafeamapkor, sponsored a motion in Parliament seeking the abolition of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, despite the institution being in its formative years. President John Dramani Mahama later intervened and called for the withdrawal of the bill.

The bill, introduced in late 2025, sought to transfer the OSP’s mandate and prosecutorial powers to the Attorney-General’s Department. Its sponsors argued that the Office duplicated functions, imposed high operational costs, and delivered limited impact.

However, the President’s intervention preserved the institutional independence necessary for effective anti-corruption enforcement.

“The Office highly commends the President—and the nation has His Excellency to thank—for the swift and decisive call for the withdrawal of the bill,” Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng stated in the report.

Mr Agyebeng said the President’s intervention reaffirmed the collective wisdom underpinning Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Programme and the creation of the OSP as an institution independent of the Attorney-General.

“The Attorney-General, being a member of Cabinet and the chief legal adviser to Government, is not well-suited to investigate and prosecute members of a government to which he belongs,” he said, stressing that separating the two offices shields anti-corruption enforcement from political influence.

The Special Prosecutor rejected claims that consolidating prosecutorial authority under the Attorney-General would improve efficiency or reduce costs, describing such arguments as unsupported by evidence and inconsistent with Ghana’s anti-corruption policy framework.

He noted that the attempt to abolish the Office came at a time when the OSP had recorded significant results, including saving the Republic billions of cedis through investigations and corruption-risk assessments, prosecuting dozens of accused persons, and seizing and managing substantial tainted assets.

“If the Office is not performing as expected in its formative years, the solution is not abolition,” Mr Agyebeng said. “The answer lies in forbearance, careful nurturing, enhancement of powers, and assurance of adequate resourcing.”

The report further linked the President’s intervention to broader national reform thinking, citing the Constitution Review Commission’s December 2025 recommendations, which called for strengthening Ghana’s anti-corruption framework through an independent body with prosecutorial powers separate from the Attorney-General.

Mr Agyebeng said resistance to the work of the OSP was inevitable, particularly from individuals and entities facing investigation or potential scrutiny.

“No one welcomes corruption-related investigations where they or their associates are the subject,” he cautioned, warning against allowing such resistance to influence national policy.

The Office expressed gratitude to President Mahama, Parliament, civil society organisations, and citizens who stood in defence of its mandate, stressing that institutional independence remains central to safeguarding the public interest.