An anti-corruption campaigner and Co-Chair of Citizen’s Movement Against Corruption (Cmac), Edem Senanu, has singled out the Office of the Special Prosecutor for praise in its fight against corruption.
He noted that the OSP has been particularly effective in targeting political elites, prompting various attempts to undermine its credibility.
His comment comes after the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Searchlight Newspaper, Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, sued the Attorney General and Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) over the constitutionality of the latter.
The 2024 independent parliamentary candidate is seeking to have the creation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and its powers declared unlawful.
This includes the OSP’s powers of arrest, detention, freezing, and seizure, which he has described as abusive.
Mr Kuranchie in his writ is asking the Supreme Court to declare the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (ACT 957) as contrary to “Articles 11, 17. (1)(2) and (3), 88. (3) and (4), 289. (2) 290. (1) (f)) and 290. (2) to (4), 12. (2) and 107 (b) of the 1992 Constitution.”
Earlier, a former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu filed a petition, calling for the removal of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng for various breaches.
However, the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo on Friday, July 5 dismissed the petition which she deemed baseless and without merit.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Mr Senanu said, “Various people are trying various mechanisms and strategies to try and pull down the office, and much more so even the individual occupying the office because they see that these are independent and objective-minded people”.
The Anti-Corruption Campaigner emphasised that the primary focus for those involved in combating corruption should be prevention rather than solely pursuing the recovery of lost funds.
Mr Senanu argued that spending additional resources to recover stolen assets often yields limited returns, whereas preventing corruption in the first place would be more effective.
He cited examples from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), highlighting its handling of approximately 11 cases, including four significant cases annually, involving high-level individuals.
“From where I sit, I think the OSP is serving a very important role as a deterrent and has probably been the one institution that has been proactive in ensuring that those who want to continue being greedy cannot just feel comfortable about it,” he said.
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