Politicians don’t want us around – OSP casts doubts of sustainability of office

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has raised concerns about the long-term survival of his office, insisting that political hostility continues to threaten its existence.

The Special Prosecutor made the remarks on Tuesday while reflecting on repeated attempts to abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), warning that its sustainability remains uncertain despite its mandate to fight corruption.

He stressed that political dynamics have consistently placed the institution under pressure.

“Politicians don’t want us around because we are bad news to politicians,” Mr Agyebeng said, arguing that resistance to the OSP is rooted in its anti-corruption posture rather than performance alone.

He further revealed that the office came close to being dismantled in 2025, a period he described as both its strongest in performance and most vulnerable in terms of institutional survival.

According to him, only the intervention of President John Dramani Mahama prevented what he suggested would have been its abolition.

“Had it not been the good nature of the president, the office would have been scrapped,” he stated, adding that the OSP cannot depend indefinitely on political goodwill for survival.

Mr Agyebeng cautioned that attempts to abolish the office have not entirely disappeared from public policy discussions.

“The attempt to scrap the Office of the Special Prosecutor last year is not dead,” he warned, underscoring the fragility of the institution within the current political environment.

He argued that reforms should not be shaped by individual personalities or current officeholders but must instead focus on building a resilient institution.

“We should not depend on the goodness of the president to say, ‘Withdraw it from Parliament,’” he noted, emphasizing the need for structural independence.

His comments come amid renewed debate in Parliament, where Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and several Members of Parliament have reportedly supported calls for the abolition of the OSP.

Lawmakers argue that despite substantial budget allocations over the past eight years, the office has not delivered commensurate results in the fight against corruption.

They have suggested that strengthening the Attorney-General’s Department may be a more efficient alternative, with proposals emerging for either a private member’s bill or executive-sponsored legislation to dissolve the OSP.

Mr Agyebeng, however, maintains that the debate should not focus on dismantling institutions but on improving their capacity.

He insisted that the OSP must be transformed into a durable anti-corruption body capable of surviving political transitions and institutional pressures, regardless of shifting political attitudes.