Why it is called the Office of the Special Prosecutor

I now understand why lawmakers chose the name Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). I used to wonder why “Special,” when the office is, in practice, a one-stop anti-corruption institution — investigating cases with powers of the police, recovering stolen assets, preventing corruption, and prosecuting offenders independently of the Attorney-General. Why not simply call it a National Anti-Corruption Commission?

It becomes clear that the Office is special precisely because of the pressures it endures and the independence it insists on. You are indeed special when some members of the ruling party demand your removal simply because you were appointed by a previous administration.

You are special when others accuse you of shielding suspects from the former regime — even when you place them on Interpol Red Notice — and still blame you for allowing him to travel abroad for medical reasons with approval from the then Chief of Staff.

You are special when, after following due process, you face public outrage for allegedly being insensitive to a suspect’s health — told to conduct investigations over Zoom instead of insisting on accountability. You are special when members of the opposition accuse you of harassing their members while sparing those in government, and when they expect you to indict former and current presidents even when investigations showed no wrongdoing.

You must be doubly special when some members of both sides conclude that your work is a waste — despite saving the nation billions of cedis in questionable payments and preventing the abuse or sale of strategic state assets such as the Tema Oil Refinery.

In less than four years, the office — once dormant — has been rebuilt from scratch, staffed, equipped, and operational across the country. It has initiated prosecutions against over twenty people, secured assets worth millions, and conducted corruption risk assessments, recoveries, and plea bargains — all while building capacity and systems.

Yet people forget that recoveries only follow court convictions, that the Office does not control trial durations, and that investigations — as in advanced jurisdictions — take time. They forget that the real enemy is corruption itself, not the institution fighting it.

You must be special when the elite, through propaganda, seek to discredit and dismantle the very institution that holds them accountable. They thrive on misinformation, hoping the public will lose faith. Yet it is heartening that many Ghanaians, though less vocal online, still see through the noise and quietly support this unique institution — one that stands above partisan control and remains a true guardian of public trust.