Kwesi Pratt has reaffirmed that Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) operates entirely under the authority of the Attorney General, describing the institution as legally subordinate and constitutionally inferior.
Pratt walked viewers through Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution to show that the Attorney General retains the exclusive right to prosecute on behalf of the state.
“If the OSP starts any prosecution, the Attorney General can, without the OSP’s permission, enter nolle prosequi,” Pratt explainedSpeaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana monitred by MyNewsGh.
“This means that the Attorney General holds the final authority, and the OSP only acts under his delegated powers.”
Pratt emphasized that the OSP was never given original prosecutorial powers but functions within limits defined by the Constitution.
“We’ve created an institution which has no original powers,” he said. “It cannot take its own decisions unless the Attorney General allows it.”
He further described the OSP as “a subordinate organization” and cautioned against viewing it as an independent prosecutorial body.
“While the OSP carries out prosecutions, it is deemed to be doing so on the authority of the Attorney General. It’s completely subordinate,” he stressed.
Addressing the ongoing dispute between the OSP and the Attorney General over the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Pratt argued that the OSP cannot independently initiate such a process.
“The OSP cannot start an extradition process. It doesn’t have that power. That power is vested in the Attorney General,” he asserted.
According to Pratt, any attempt by the OSP to bypass the Attorney General or to write directly to the Chief of Staff for assistance is unconstitutional.
“How can the OSP communicate with the Chief of Staff instead of its superior organ, the Attorney General? The Chief of Staff has no locus to determine a legal matter without reference to the Attorney General,” he said.
