Legal scholar Prof Kwaku Asare, popularly known as ‘Kwaku Azar’, has issued a detailed clarification on the extent of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s police powers, stressing that the law does not permit the OSP to act as a parallel police service.

In a Facebook post on December 4, 2025, Kwaku Azar addressed what he described as widespread misinterpretation of Section 28 of the OSP Act (Act 959).

The section grants the Special Prosecutor and authorised officers the powers of a police officer as outlined in the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30).

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According to him, the provision appears broad when read alone, but its scope is significantly narrowed by the OSP’s limited mandate under Act 959.

He explained that while the OSP may exercise police-style powers such as arrest, search and detention, those powers apply only to corruption and corruption-related offences.

“Yes, the OSP has police powers,” he wrote. “But that does not make it the Ghana Police Service. Section 28 gives the OSP the methods of policing, but Act 959 strictly limits when those methods may be used.”

Kwaku Azar noted that the OSP’s jurisdiction covers offences involving bribery, procurement breaches, influence-peddling and other corruption schemes. Any arrest or detention outside this domain, he said, is unlawful and beyond the OSP’s authority.

Kwaku Azar dismissed public claims that the OSP applies double standards when dealing with misconduct on its premises.

Using Akan proverbs, he explained that the OSP is “an anti-corruption crab, not a general-policing bird,” meaning its authority is powerful but limited to its specialised terrain.

Kwaku Azar further stated that misconduct occurring on OSP premises does not automatically fall under the OSP’s authority unless it is corruption-related.

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Acts such as insulting an officer, resisting movement, disorderly conduct, filming in restricted areas or even physically assaulting an official, he said, are matters for the Ghana Police Service.

“Section 28 does not create a backdoor to general policing,” he emphasised, warning that allowing the OSP to arrest for any offence on its compound would effectively create a second police institution, something Parliament never intended.

He reiterated that police powers do not create police jurisdiction, and any action taken outside the OSP’s corruption-focused mandate is ultra vires.

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