Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has dismissed allegations that the Mahama administration is covertly attempting to weaken or dismantle the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The Abura Asebu-Kwamankese MP categorially denied a coordinated state campaign against the institution, insisting President John Mahama fully supports the anti-graft body and has previously intervened to ensure its survival.
When asked by host Evans Mensah whether there was a coordinated plan to dissolve the office, Kwakye Ofosu replied, “Absolutely not.”
He argued that the clearest evidence of presidential backing occurred last year when the Majority Leader and Majority Chief Whip introduced a bill in Parliament to scrap the OSP.
“The majority at the time had 189 members, and if they had been whipped in line, we would have just approved it, and that would have been the end of the matter,” Kwakye Ofosu explained. He noted that President Mahama personally intervened, urging party leaders to allow the institution to function. “The president prevailed on the majority leader and the majority chief whip to give the special prosecutor a chance,” he stated.
The spokesperson maintained that recent legal disputes involving the OSP have been mischaracterised as government aggression. He cited a specific court case where an accused individual successfully challenged the Special Prosecutor’s power to initiate prosecutions without the Attorney-General’s authorisation under constitutional provisions.
“The court upheld his position,” Kwakye Ofosu said, adding that the judiciary holds the constitutional mandate to interpret the law. “So, if the judiciary… sees that the special prosecutor is acting in violation of the constitution, that should be respected,” he noted.
Addressing a separate Supreme Court case regarding the Attorney-General’s formal stance on the OSP’s powers, Kwakye Ofosu defended the state’s legal advisor.
“The attorney general is bound to take the position of the law,” he said, emphasising that the Attorney-General must operate strictly within constitutional boundaries.
Kwakye Ofosu cautioned against misinterpreting judicial rulings as political interference, stating, “It does not mean that government has anything against the special prosecutor.”
He reiterated that President Mahama has consistently defended the OSP publicly, despite internal party reservations.
“The special prosecutor’s office has the president’s full and absolute backing to do what he has to,” he declared.
However, he concluded that the OSP must operate within constitutional limits, suggesting that any legal flaws identified by the judiciary could eventually be rectified through constitutional reform.
“We cannot say that if it is believed by the Supreme Court… that the special prosecutor’s office is existing unlawfully or acting unlawfully, then we should still allow it to operate. That would fly in the face of the rule of law,” he said on Joy News.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana