On February 7, 2024, in Accra, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) hosted a media awareness workshop on “Electoral Corruption Offenses and Sanctions” in association with the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and its partners.
64 people in all attended the presentation, most of them being members of the media.
The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) were the two public entities that were highlighted in the session.
Samuel Appiah Darko, Director for Strategy, Research, and Communication, led the OSP presentation, which focused on election corruption charges that fall under the OSP’s purview.
Mr. Appiah Darko distinguished the OSP from offenses that fall outside of its jurisdiction by carefully outlining the list of crimes the agency is required to investigate.
He also emphasized the Office’s fourfold mandate, which is to “curb corruption by focusing on prevention as well as conducting thorough investigations and prosecutions when corruption arises.
“Our goal is to retrieve the corrupted money after a successful prosecution. While many Ghanaians prefer to view any misconduct by politicians as corruption, it’s vital to remember that the OSP is particularly entrusted with looking into cases of specified corruption.”
He pointed out that other matters are under the jurisdiction of the Police, EOCO, NIB, and other governmental agencies.
Mr. Appiah Darko emphasized the need to dispel myths regarding the effectiveness of the OSP and urged the media to help inform the people so they won’t believe that it has failed or isn’t functioning.
