Accra: Lawyer and former Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Paul Twum-Barimah, has defended the High Court ruling that restricts the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) from independently prosecuting cases, insisting that the decision is firmly grounded in constitutional law rather than judicial error.
According to Ghana Web, Twum-Barimah emphasized in a Facebook post on April 17, 2026, that Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution clearly vests prosecutorial authority in the Attorney-General. This means any other institution, including the OSP, can only initiate prosecutions with proper authorisation. He further highlighted Article 130, which assigns the Supreme Court the final authority to interpret constitutional matters.
Twum-Barimah also referenced Article 1(2) of the Constitution, underscoring its supremacy clause, which states, "The Constitution shall be the supreme law of Ghana and any other law found to be inconsistent with any provision of this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void." He argued that this renders any conflicting provisions in the OSP Act legally subordinate to the Constitution.
He noted that while the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) was intended to bolster the fight against corruption by insulating prosecutions from political influence, it cannot override constitutional provisions. He cautioned that interpreting the law otherwise risks undermining constitutional order rather than strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
Twum-Barimah urged the Supreme Court to conclusively determine the matter to resolve emerging inconsistencies in judicial interpretations. He warned that continued uncertainty could impact ongoing and past corruption cases. "The High Court simply applied the law as it is," he implied, adding that the Supreme Court must now provide final clarity to prevent institutional conflict and safeguard legal certainty.