A delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini, comprising officials of the Eswatini Anti-Corruption Commission and the Ministry of Justice, has visited Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The study tour aimed to examine Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions, legal frameworks, and operational strategies, with a view to informing and strengthening anti-corruption systems in Eswatini.

The delegation met Deputy Special Prosecutor Cynthia Lamptey and key OSP directors, including Dr Isidore Tuffour (Prosecutions), Samuel Appiah-Darko (Strategy, Research and Communications), Albert Akurugu (Asset Recovery and Management), and Boakyewaa Glover (Human Resources).

OSP officials briefed the visitors on the Office’s mandate, legal authority, operational procedures, inter-agency collaboration, international cooperation, stakeholder engagement, staffing structure, resources, and accountability mechanisms.

The delegation expressed particular interest in Ghana’s legal architecture, focusing on the Office’s independence from the executive, the appointment process, the security of tenure of the Special Prosecutor, and the ability to prosecute cases independently of the Attorney General.

They contrasted this with Eswatini, where the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission are political appointees of the King, each serving five-year terms, highlighting the differences in institutional independence.

Discussions also explored ways to strengthen Eswatini’s anti-corruption framework, including granting investigative powers to the Commission. The delegation considered ongoing constitutional review proposals in Ghana, which seek to entrench the anti-corruption body in the constitution to address debates over Article 88 and improve the handling of unexplained wealth cases.

The visiting team was led by Jabu Phakathi, the Commissioner of the Eswatini Anti-Corruption Commission, accompanied by the Legal Advisor and the Legislative Drafter from the Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs.