The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has described 2025 as its most challenging year in terms of survival, despite recording strong operational performance.
Speaking at a National Dialogue on the Office of the Special Prosecutor on Tuesday, March 31, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said that while the office achieved some of its best results, it also endured its “worst year of existential troubles.”
According to Mr Agyebeng, political calls to scrap the office significantly contributed to the challenges it faced, noting that such pressure stems from its mandate to hold public officials accountable.
“2025 was our best year of performance; at the same time, it was our worst year of existential troubles. Why should Kissi and a few officers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor always fight existential battles just to keep this office running?” he said.
He further appealed to civil society organisations to support and protect the institution, describing it as a legacy that must be preserved.
“When I become the former Special Prosecutor, I want to look back and say: civil society forged this office and civil society preserved it. It is your handiwork. Do not let it die,” he added.
In December 2025, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor drafted a Private Member’s Bill seeking the repeal of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
The accompanying memorandum argued that the OSP’s operations over the past eight years have exposed deep structural and constitutional challenges that undermine its effectiveness.
It cited duplication of prosecutorial functions between the Special Prosecutor and the Attorney-General, leading to institutional friction, overlapping mandates, and delays in criminal proceedings.
However, President John Dramani Mahama later requested that the bill be suspended.
