The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has lodged an appeal and filed an application for a stay of execution following a High Court decision that directed the Attorney-General to assume control of cases initiated by the office.

The motion for a stay is scheduled to be heard on May 21 at the General Jurisdiction division of the High Court.

The update was made known in court on Thursday, April 23, during proceedings in the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case, where former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is standing trial.

The contested ruling stated that the OSP must obtain explicit authority under its enabling law before initiating prosecutions. In the absence of such approval, the court declared those prosecutions null and directed the Attorney-General to take over.

This decision has resulted in delays in several cases, as the courts await clarity on the prosecutorial powers of the OSP.

Among the affected cases are the SML matter involving Mr. Ofori-Atta and another case linked to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) involving Mustapha Hamid, both of which have been adjourned to May 26.