Private legal practitioner Amanda Akuokor Clinton has called for a restructuring of Ghana’s constitutional framework, arguing that the concentration of prosecutorial power at the top is fundamentally undermining the nation's fight against corruption.

In a detailed legal analysis, Ms. Clinton contends that the ongoing struggle for autonomy between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Office of the Attorney General is not a mere anomaly, but a "predictable feature" of a system that asks a single individual to serve as both a political strategist and an impartial prosecutor.

The Dual Role Dilemma

Ms. Clinton’s central thesis revolves around the historical fusion of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General. She argues that while the former is inherently political, advancing a government's legislative agenda from within the Cabinet, the latter must remain a neutral arbiter of the law.

“The same office that defends government policy is also expected to prosecute wrongdoing within that government,” Ms. Clinton noted, drawing on her experience within the Attorney General’s Department. “It is not that this cannot work. It is that it creates a permanent tension—one that depends heavily on restraint, convention, and individual integrity rather than structural safeguards.”

She warned that "governance should not depend on hope," but rather on institutional design that eliminates the need for an officeholder to choose between political loyalty and legal duty.

The OSP: Independence "Within Limits"

The creation of the OSP in 2018 was intended to bridge the trust gap in high-level corruption cases. However, Ms. Clinton points out that the system merely "layered" the OSP beneath a politically connected office that holds ultimate constitutional control under Article 88.

This hierarchy, she argues, transforms the Attorney General into an "executive gatekeeper" who determines which investigations proceed and which are redirected.

“Why would an executive gatekeeper, embedded within that same environment, consistently authorize the full and unfettered pursuit of those within it?” she questioned. “When a system depends on individuals rising above pressure, it is already under strain.”

Lessons from the Continent

Ms. Clinton drew parallels to South Africa’s defunct "Scorpions"—an elite anti-corruption unit that was disbanded after its effectiveness brought it into direct conflict with political powers. She cautioned that in systems where anti-corruption bodies require "alignment or tolerance" from the executive, their independence is rarely removed overnight; instead, it is "managed, adjusted, and conditioned."

“If the OSP can investigate but not fully control its prosecutorial path… then independence becomes conditional,” she stated. “And conditional independence does not build public trust. It complicates it.”

A Call for Structural Clarity

The legal practitioner concluded that the struggle currently witnessed in Ghana’s anti-corruption landscape—highlighted by recent court rulings and jurisdictional disputes- will continue as long as the foundational question of separation remains unanswered. She maintains that while the current arrangement is legally defensible under the 1992 Constitution, it is increasingly becoming "structurally unsustainable."

For Ms. Clinton, the path forward is clear: Ghana must choose between a system of centralised executive control and one of genuine institutional certainty. Until then, she warns, the fight against corruption will remain hampered by blurred boundaries, wavering public confidence, and motives that are perpetually questioned.