The Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Searchlight, Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, has formally requested that President Nana Akufo-Addo dismiss Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng from office.

He alleges serious breaches of conduct, including violations of his oaths of office and secrecy.

In an October 18, 2024 letter, Kuranchie argued that Agyebeng’s actions meet the criteria for removal outlined in Section 15.(1) of the Special Prosecutor Act (Act 959), which details conditions under which the Special Prosecutor may be dismissed.

Citing the Act, he stated, “Petitioner presents this petition for the removal of the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, on the authority of Section 15. (1) of the Special Prosecutor Act, (Act 959) of 2017,” noting that grounds for removal include “stated misbehaviour, incompetence, incapacity…willful violation of the Official Oath and Oath of Secrecy.”

Kuranchie’s claims include allegations that Agyebeng authorized polygraph tests for 80% of the Office’s staff, not through Ghana’s National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), but instead via the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“Petitioner states, first, that this work was not done by the N.I.B, and second, this work was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), an agency of the government of the United States of America, a foreign nation,” Mr Kuranchie asserted.

He contends this constitutes “stated misbehaviour” and violates the Data Protection Act, emphasizing that “these acts amount to willful violation of the Official Oath and Oath of Secrecy; and are prejudicial or inimical to the economy or security of the State.”

Kuranchie underscored that these alleged breaches make Agyebeng unfit for office, per Section 15.(1)(a) of Act 959, and has urged the president to take action. President Akufo-Addo has since referred the petition to the Chief Justice for a preliminary assessment.

This petition follows a Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 dismissing a lawsuit filed by Kuranchie, which sought to declare the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) unconstitutional.

That case, brought against the Attorney General and the OSP, claimed that the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (ACT 957) contravened several articles of the 1992 Constitution.

Although Kuranchie previously discontinued a similar suit last year, he recently filed a new petition on the same grounds, seeking a constitutional review of the OSP’s mandate.