Let the courts decide on OSP — Asah-Asante tells CSOs
As civil society organisations grow louder in their concerns over the Office of the Special Prosecutor, one political scientist is urging everyone to take a step back and let the judiciary do its job.
Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante of the University of Ghana, speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse, made a straightforward case for patience and process over pressure. The matter, he noted, is already before the courts, and that is precisely where it should stay.
“So the issue is in the bosom of the courts. Let the court come out, and what the courts say, we will see whether this problem can’t be fixed,” he said.
The debate has been heating up in recent weeks, with CSOs warning that the OSP is not being given adequate room to operate and calling on government to back off, going as far as suggesting that public frustration over the handling of anti-corruption institutions could cost the ruling administration politically.
The government has not taken kindly to that framing. Minister of State for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu dismissed the interference claims on Joy FM’s Midday News, stating that the President has no involvement in the legal proceedings surrounding the OSP.
Dr. Asah-Asante urged caution before drawing conclusions either way. “The key issue is whether the President has a hand in what is being alleged. If he does, then that is a different conversation. If he does not, then it is also a different matter. From where I sit, I do not see it. I am open to being convinced, but evidence must be provided beyond a reasonable doubt,” he stated.
On the question of whether CSO pressure could sway voters, he was measured. Advocacy groups matter, he said, but they do not vote on behalf of citizens. “Politics is a game of numbers. CSOs do have influence, but voters look at issues before they vote. It is not simply because an institution is speaking that people will vote along those lines,” he explained.
He also touched on the broader structural conversation around prosecutorial independence in Ghana, suggesting that if institutional weaknesses are the real concern, the answer lies in reform, potentially decoupling key anti-corruption bodies to give them stronger, more credible independence, rather than in public campaigns or political point-scoring.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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