Supreme Court adjourns OSP challenge to High Court ruling indefinitely
The case was called on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, before a five-member panel chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang.
The Supreme Court has adjourned indefinitely an application by the Office of the Special Prosecutor seeking to quash a High Court ruling that stripped it of its independent prosecutorial powers.
The case was called on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, before a five-member panel chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang.
However, the court could not hear the application because the processes filed by the OSP had not been served on the interested parties.
“Unfortunately, your application could not be served,” Justice Pwamang told the OSP’s Director of Prosecutions, Dr Isidore Tufuor.
Dr Tufuor told the court the OSP would assist the registry to ensure service was done.
“In the circumstances, the court may adjourn indefinitely,” he said.
The panel consequently adjourned the certiorari application sine die.
Other members of the panel were Justices Samuel Asiedu, Richard Adjei-Frimpong, Janapare Bartels-Kudzo and Hafisata Amaleboba.
The Supreme Court action follows an April 15, 2026 ruling by the High Court, presided over by Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu.
That ruling was delivered after Emmanuel Achibod Hyde, an accused person in an ongoing criminal trial, filed a quo warranto application challenging the OSP’s authority to prosecute cases.
The High Court held that prosecutorial authority in Ghana is vested in the Attorney-General under Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution.
It consequently ordered the Attorney-General to take over all criminal cases being handled by the OSP in various courts.
The court also directed the OSP to seek authorisation from the Attorney-General before prosecuting cases.
Justice Nyadu further declared that any convictions secured by the OSP without such authorisation were void and ordered that affected trials be started afresh by the Attorney-General.
The High Court also awarded costs of GH¢15,000 against the OSP.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the OSP filed a stay of execution application at the High Court and a certiorari application at the Supreme Court.
The stay application at the High Court has already been adjourned to June.
The High Court decision has affected several OSP-related cases, including matters involving former National Petroleum Authority boss Mustapha Hamid, former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Charles Bissue.
