Fourteen civil society organisations, including CDD, IMANI and 12 other CSO’shave filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking permission to join a constitutional case challenging parts of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).

The groups want to participate in the case of Adamtey v Attorney-General as amici curiae, meaning friends of the court, to provide legal and policy perspectives to assist the court in its determination.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, May 6, the organisations explained that the case raises important constitutional and public interest issues relating to Ghana’s anti corruption framework and the independence of public institutions.

The coalition includes Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Transparency International Ghana, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Democracy Hub LBG, STAR-Ghana Foundation, NORSAAC, Penplusbytes, the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Odekro Parliamentary Monitoring Organization, A Rocha Ghana, Parliamentary Network Africa (PN Africa), IMANI-Africa, the One Ghana Movement, and Africa Education Watch.

According to the statement, some of the organisations were directly involved in the drafting and parliamentary approval of Act 959 in 2017 and also campaigned for the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

It noted that it jointly submitted what it described as one of the most detailed memoranda to Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee during discussions on the bill.

The coalition commended the Supreme Court for increasingly allowing amicus curiae participation in cases involving major constitutional questions.

According to the statement, such participation has helped to broaden public interest perspectives and strengthen constitutional adjudication in Ghana.

The organisations stressed that their intervention is not politically motivated or directed at any individual involved in the case.

“It is motivated solely by a shared commitment to constitutionalism, accountable governance, anti corruption, institutional integrity, and the preservation of independent public institutions established to serve the Republic,” the statement noted.

The coalition expressed confidence that its participation would provide the court with institutional memory, comparative anti corruption standards and constitutional arguments to support a fair determination of the matter.

The applicants are being represented by Kizito Beyuo, Oliver Barker Vormawor, Samson Lardy Anyenini and Clement Kojo Akapame.

By: Jacob Aggrey