Legal academic Stephen Kwaku Asare, widely known as Kwaku Azar, has clarified the scope of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s authority following the arrest of lawyer Martin Kpebu, insisting the issue is “purely jurisdictional” and not evidence of discrimination or selective enforcement.
In a detailed social media commentary, he stressed that Section 28 of the OSP Act must be interpreted alongside the Office’s narrow mandate.
“Yes, the OSP has police powers,” he said, “but that does not make it the Ghana Police Service.” He argued that the Act gives the OSP certain policing methods such as arrest and detention, but only for corruption and corruption-related matters.
According to him, Parliament never intended the OSP to operate as a parallel police institution.
He noted that critics who describe the situation as “Kɔtɔ deɛ ne bu dwɛ” are misreading the law. “Kɔtɔ yɛ kɔtɔ; ɔnyɛ anomaa,” he wrote, explaining that the OSP’s authority is strong within corruption cases and nonexistent outside them.
Kwaku Azar emphasised that Act 30 guides how arrest works, while Act 959 limits when the OSP can arrest. He stated bluntly that “power without jurisdiction is unlawful,” warning that extending police powers into non-corruption matters would be improper and ultra vires.
He also cautioned that an overreach in a non-corruption matter does not invalidate the OSP’s lawful authority in proper corruption investigations.
“The issue is not discrimination,” he said. “It is jurisdiction, nothing more, nothing less.”
