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Claim: Atik Mohammed, a former General Secretary of Ghana’s opposition People’s National Convention (PNC), claims the country’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, has no conviction to his credit since assuming office.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s checks revealed that Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, has seven convictions in two separate cases. This is contained in pages 20, 22, and 23 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Half-Yearly Report published in July 2025.
Full Text
A former General Secretary of the opposition People’s National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has alleged that Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, has no conviction to his credit since assuming office.
His comments followed the OSP’s announcement that it had frozen some assets of the former Chief Executive Officer of the country’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid, estimated at over GH₵100 million. Lawyers for Mustapha have denied the claim, labelling it misleading.
Writing on Facebook on Nov. 7, 2025, Atik accused the office of conducting a social media trial of persons it has investigated.
“Why does this minion of the Special Prosecutor, Sammy Darko, think that criminal prosecution is done and won on social media? If they claim to have traced and seized property belonging to the accused person(s), they must prove it in court. Anything less than qualifies as a useless pursuit,” he said.
He expressed surprise at Kissi’s appointment by ex-Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo as the replacement for the former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu.
“It’s obvious the SP and his underlings are grossly incompetent and driven only by hate and the appetite to flex muscles, which muscles are weak by the way. I cannot for the life of me understand how Akuffo could settle on this snollygoster as a replacement for Martin Amidu. Well, this adds to his list of bad decisions by way of legacy,” he said.
According to him, Kissi’s incompetence explains why he has been unable to secure a conviction since he began trying people for corruption and related offenses.
“It is now clear why the SP has no conviction to his credit. Not even one. At this rate, the OSP might be causing more financial loss to the state by these frivolous pursuits than the people they allege have stolen,” he said.
The social media data has revealed that as of Nov. 26, 2025, the post has garnered over 109 likes, 39 comments, and 31 shares.
Reacting to the post, a social media user, Mireku Bamfo, said, “No serious lawyer will do what the OSP is doing. We have seen senior lawyers advising young ones not to do their case in the media, and is that what the OSP is doing?”
Another social media user, Francis Adua, said, “[The] OSP has had conviction(s)…Wutumi aid is one big example in the ongoing OSP vs Charles Bissue case.”
DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim due to interactions and interest on social media in Ghana.
Verification
DUBAWA’s checks revealed that Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, has seven convictions in two separate cases.
This is contained in pages 20, 22, and 23 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Half-Yearly Report published in July 2025.
In the Republic v Tahidu Yakubu & Five Others, which commenced in November 2023, the Special Prosecutor prosecuted six individuals for their involvement in corruption and corruption-related offences related to the government payroll administration.
However, the six triggered the plea-bargaining regime under Section 71(1) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which permits an accused person to agree to a lesser offence or opt to compensate the State.
Kissi Agyabeng accepted the plea-bargaining agreement in accordance with section 71(3), (4), and (6) of Act 959, and the Court convicted the accused persons on their own plea.
See pages 22 and 23 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Half-Yearly Report published in July 2025.
Additionally, in the Republic v. Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Onuawonto Bissue & Another (substituted with Cr/0559/2025, the Republic v. Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Onuawonto Bissue & two others), the accused persons were charged with using public office for personal gain.
However, businessman Andy Thomas Owusu was convicted after reaching a plea-bargaining agreement with the Special Prosecutor. The other accused persons are still on trial.
See page 20 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Half-Yearly Report published in July 2025.
This brings the number of persons convicted by the country’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, to seven.
Conclusion
Atik’s claim that Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, has no conviction to his credit since assuming office is false.
