Office of Attorney-General to take over OSP prosecutions after High Court ruling

• High Court orders Attorney-General to take over all OSP prosecutions.

• Ruling says OSP lacks authority to prosecute without AG’s approval.

• AG’s office to begin steps to assume control of ongoing cases.

The Office of the Attorney-General is set to take over all cases currently being prosecuted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) following a directive by the High Court.

Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai in a social media post on Thursday April 16, disclosed that the order requires the Attorney-General to assume control of the cases until the OSP obtains the necessary constitutional authorisation to prosecute.

The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, creates uncertainty around ongoing prosecutions by the OSP, effectively placing them in abeyance pending further legal direction.

Presiding judge, Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante, held that while the OSP is empowered to investigate corruption-related offences, it does not have constitutional authority to initiate prosecutions on its own.

“Yesterday, the High Court ordered the Honourable Attorney-General to take over all the cases which the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is prosecuting until such a time that the OSP obtains the constitutionally required authorisation to prosecute,” he stated.

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The ruling arose from a case involving an accused person, Peter Archiblod Hyde, who challenged the authority of the OSP to prosecute without authorisation from the Attorney-General.

“In the case, Peter Archiblod Hyde asked the High Court to direct the OSP to show that its officers are authorised by the Attorney-General to initiate or conduct prosecution,” he explained.

According to the Deputy Attorney-General, the argument presented in court was that both the Constitution and the OSP Act require the OSP to act with the authorisation of the Attorney-General when initiating prosecutions.

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He added that court records indicated the OSP was unable to demonstrate such authorisation, leading to the directive.

“The Court’s records show, however, that the OSP was unable to show that it has the Attorney-General’s authorisation - hence the Court’s order above,” he said.

Justice Srem-Sai emphasised that the Attorney-General’s Office will comply fully with the ruling and begin the process of taking over the affected cases.

“The Honourable Attorney-General has no intention or capacity to disobey or ignore the High Court’s order. Accordingly, the Office of the Attorney-General will, in the coming days, begin to take the necessary steps to give effect to the Court’s order,” he stated.

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The decision is expected to affect ongoing and pending prosecutions initiated by the OSP, pending further legal clarification, particularly as related matters are before the Supreme Court.