Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, has called for the scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), arguing that the institution has outlived its usefulness and resources allocated to it should be channeled into development projects like the Big Push initiative.
The senior lecturer described the OSP as becoming a drain on the country, suggesting that funds used to service the office could be better utilized for other national priorities. His call comes amid growing debate about the effectiveness and independence of anti corruption institutions in Ghana.
Dr. Zaato has been a persistent critic of the OSP, particularly under the leadership of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng. In August 2025, he accused the office of weaponizing bail against former Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) board chair Paul Adom Otchere, calling the conduct vindictive and an indictment of Ghana’s democracy.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points following Adom Otchere’s brief detention after reporting to the OSP on July 31, Zaato criticized the office’s handling of bail conditions. Adom Otchere was released on August 1 after his legal team, including former Attorney General Godfred Dame, negotiated revised bail terms secured by the Jospong Group of Companies as surety.
The OSP confirmed in an August 1 statement that the new conditions met the objectives of the original bail, stressing that investigation into a GACL revenue assurance contract with a firm linked to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) remained active. However, Zaato maintained that the initial bail conditions appeared designed to punish rather than facilitate justice.
In October 2025, Zaato challenged the fairness and impartiality of the government’s anti corruption drive, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL). Speaking on The Key Points on October 25, he questioned Attorney General Dominic Akuritinga Ayine’s decision to file nolle prosequi, a formal notice of abandonment of prosecution, for members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who were standing trial for various offenses under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
While stating he supports accountability, Zaato criticized what he termed sweetheart deals granted to political allies. He argued that the practice undermines current anti graft efforts and estimated that the total value of money involved in the nolle prosequi cases would be equal to or almost close to what ORAL was supposed to recover, effectively calling the funds money flushed down the toilet.
Zaato outlined the massive opportunity cost of dropping the earlier cases, suggesting that if both the money involved in the nolle prosequi cases and the funds ORAL seeks to recover were successfully retrieved, the government could fund major national development projects. “Imagine in a fair world, we collected the money of the seven or five nolle prosequi cases. We could easily fund the Big Push Agenda,” he stated.
The Big Push initiative, launched by President John Dramani Mahama in February 2025, aims to accelerate Ghana’s industrialization through coordinated public investment in strategic sectors. The program focuses on industrial transformation, agriculture modernization, infrastructure development, and job creation for youth.
Zaato strongly advocated for non partisan judicial accountability, stating that politicians should not decide the fate of those accused of crimes. He offered a theory on post regime accountability, stating that if a government fails to hold its own people to account, the next government has every right to pursue justice. However, he maintained that the current government’s actions were hypocritical, effectively telling one group of political friends to keep the money while aggressively pursuing another.
The OSP was established in 2018 through Act 959 as an independent specialized agency to investigate and prosecute corruption and corruption related offenses involving public officials and politically exposed persons. The office is mandated to prosecute offenders on the authority of the Attorney General, who serves as the principal legal adviser to the government.
Kissi Agyebeng has been Special Prosecutor since August 2021, taking over from Martin Amidu, who resigned in November 2020 citing presidential interference. Under Agyebeng’s leadership, the OSP has pursued several high profile cases, including investigations into former Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta over the SML revenue assurance contracts with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The OSP filed 78 charges against Ofori Atta and seven others on November 18, 2025 over alleged violations of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). Those charged alongside Ofori Atta include former GRA commissioners general, senior GRA officials, a former technical advisor at the Ministry of Finance, and SML owner Evans Adusei.
However, controversy has surrounded the case after Ofori Atta left Ghana around January 2, 2025 while under investigation. Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has accused Agyebeng of complicity in the former minister’s exit and called for his resignation, pointing to the Special Prosecutor’s admission that he watched Ken Ofori Atta leave and was powerless to stop him.
On November 29, 2025, Kpebu stated that the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), National Security, and Ghana Immigration Service have all denied receiving any request from the OSP to stop Ofori Atta from leaving Ghana, directly contradicting Agyebeng’s claims. A group of Ghanaians led by Apostle Abraham Lincoln Larbi and Kpebu staged a protest in Accra on November 25 demanding the Special Prosecutor’s immediate removal from office over what they describe as his failure to deliver on his mandate.
Zaato’s latest call for scrapping the OSP adds to mounting criticism of anti corruption efforts in Ghana. Critics argue that political interference, selective prosecution, and lack of institutional independence undermine the effectiveness of agencies tasked with fighting corruption. Supporters counter that the OSP has made progress in investigating previously untouchable politically exposed persons and that dismantling the office would set back Ghana’s anti corruption agenda.
The debate reflects broader tensions about how Ghana should structure its anti corruption architecture and whether existing institutions can operate independently of political pressure while maintaining public confidence in their impartiality and effectiveness.
