A criminal investigator, DSO Mark Kwaku Asiedu-Arthur, has sued the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for ‘unfairly’ dismissing him based on a previously disclosed information which was overlooked during his appointment.
According to the plaintiff, the decision by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng to dismiss him simply because his previous appointment was terminated by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) – a dismissal he disclosed prior to his appointment on a 12-month probation basis and subsequent full-time employment in October 2024, is unjust and infringes on his human rights as guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution.
He is contesting the decision by Kissi Agyebeng to dismiss him without giving him any hearing to defend himself against issues raised in a query letter which led to his dismissal, as constituting a breach of his right to a fair hearing and right to administrative justice.
The suit, filed before a High Court in Accra, is accusing Mr. Agyebeng of having personal interest in an ongoing investigation relating to some alleged corruption and related offences at the Scholarship Secretariat.
DSO Asiedu-Arthur avers that until his dismissal, he was in charge of a team that investigated the alleged offences, and some officials of the Secretariat were arrested for their involvement.
However, due to the imminence of the 2024 general election, the Special Prosecutor, somewhere in October 2024, directed the investigative team to discontinue the investigation so as not to prejudice the political ambitions of Kingsley Agyemang, who was the Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat (now Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South), and a close friend of Mr. Agyebeng.
“That, looking at the conduct of the Special Prosecutor, it is clear that he has personal interest in the Scholarship Secretariat case and wants to victimise me for his personal interest,” the plaintiff alleges.
“That throughout my employment with the (OSP), I served with diligence, commitment and professionalism, and was never subjected to any disciplinary action or found guilty of misconduct,” the plaintiff avers.
DSO Asiedu-Arthur further avers that on March 14, 2024, he received a query letter purportedly necessitated by a petition accusing him of engaging in a different employment and earning income without approval from the Special Prosecutor, while using the name Michael Ebbah.
He, however, contends that the said Michael Ebbah was invited to the OSP, and it was confirmed that he (plaintiff) is not the said Ebbah as alleged in the petition.
He continued that in the first week of June, 2025, the Special Prosecutor issued a directive for the resumption of investigation into the Scholarship Secretariat issues and that charges be preferred against the persons who were arrested, “however, no further arrests were to be made, including that of Honourable Kingsley Agyemang.”
He said on June 9, 2025, he was issued a letter of interdiction, and the OSP without the establishment of any wrongdoing indicated in the interdiction letter that “the nature of my suspected breach renders it desirable that I should not remain on duty whiles the case is pending, and I cannot be assigned other duties without causing harm to the interest of the office.”
DSO Asiedu-Arthur further avers that, without appearing before the OSP’s National Disciplinary Committee or any other Disciplinary Committee to be given a hearing in respect of the matter for which he was interdicted, his appointment was revoked on June 16, 2025.
He argues that the decision by the Special Prosecutor to rely on a known and previously accepted fact to now justify the withdrawal of his appointment is an abuse of discretion and a violation of his right.
He is seeking among others, an order reinstating him or in the alternative, payment of compensation in a lump sum.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak