CDD-Ghana Executive Director advises Special Prosecutor not to resign after loss of prosecutorial powers

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana CDD-Ghana, has advised Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng against resigning or appealing a High Court ruling that stripped the Office of the Special Prosecutor OSP of its prosecutorial powers. In a Facebook post on April 15, 2026, Prof Prempeh urged Agyebeng and his staff to continue collecting their salaries and perks, stating that this also constitutes public service. He advised against fighting the ruling in the media. This advice follows a previous post on April 9, 2026, where Prof Prempeh criticized the Supreme Court and the Office of the Attorney-General AG for not allowing the OSP to file a defense in a suit brought by Noah Tetteh. He found it inappropriate for the AG's Office to represent the OSP when the AG's Office was aligned with the plaintiff. The ruling stems from a challenge by the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, who argued that Section 42 of the OSP Act, 2017 Act 959, which requires the Attorney-General's authorization for the Special Prosecutor to initiate and conduct prosecutions, is unconstitutional. The Deputy AG contended that the OSP had been prosecuting cases without this authorization since 2018 and that the Attorney-General's prosecutorial powers under Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution cannot be removed by ordinary legislation. He further argued that the Attorney-General can authorize natural persons to prosecute, but n