A High Court in Accra has issued an interim injunction ordering the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to refrain from executing an arrest warrant against former Presidential staffer, Charles Bissue, for the next 10 days. The court has also prohibited the OSP from applying for another arrest warrant or publishing notices declaring Mr. Bissue as wanted during this 10-day period. The injunction applies to the OSP, its assigns, agents, or anyone acting on its behalf. This decision comes after lawyers representing Mr. Bissue filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the OSP’s investigations into alleged corruption during his tenure as the Secretary of the defunct Inter Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
In response to the court’s ruling, the OSP issued a public notice stating that, under the law, it has the authority to arrest suspects without a warrant based on reasonable suspicion of corruption or corruption-related offenses.
The OSP had launched investigations in December of the previous year into alleged corruption and corruption-related activities related to illegal mining. The probe targeted the IMCIM, its officials including Mr. Bissue, Akonta Mining Limited, officials from the Lands Commission and Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, certain mining entities, individuals, and political party officials.
Mr. Bissue had previously filed a writ at the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court on January 4, seeking to halt the OSP’s investigation into him. He argued that the Ghana Police Service had already investigated and cleared him of any wrongdoing regarding alleged corruption in illegal mining. Mr. Bissue claimed that the OSP did not have the authority to review police investigations or investigate him when the police had already conducted an investigation without finding any adverse findings against him.
The plaintiff seeks a declaration from the court that, according to the interpretation of the OSP Act, the OSP does not have the power to review police investigations. Additionally, he requests a declaration that the powers granted to the OSP under Act 959 do not permit the anti-graft body to investigate and prosecute him when the matter has already been investigated by the police. Mr. Bissue further seeks a perpetual order restraining the OSP from investigating him on the same issue that has already been investigated by the police unless the police refer the matter to the OSP.
In a documentary aired in February 2019 by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye team, Mr. Bissue was implicated in allegedly accepting money to help an unlicensed company bypass established processes to obtain clearance for its mining operations. However, in July 2019, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service exonerated Mr. Bissue, stating that the documentary was not an accurate representation of the interactions between Bissue and the company involved.
