Both the Majority and Minority in Parliament have backed calls for the House to invite the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, to explain the circumstances surrounding the detention of private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
The lawmakers described the action as an abuse of power, arguing that Mr. Kpebu had voluntarily honoured an invitation from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and therefore did not deserve to be detained. In their view, even if an offence had been committed, it amounted only to a misdemeanor which did not justify such treatment.
The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, and the Minority Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, raised the issue on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, December 4.
Mr. Dafeamekpor told the House that while Parliament was transacting business on Wednesday, news broke that “one of our seasoned lawyers” had been invited by the Special Prosecutor. According to him, Mr. Kpebu willingly presented himself but was later detained.
He expressed concern that Mr. Kpebu remained in custody until after 10 p.m., even though he should have been granted bail much earlier. He also criticised the bail conditions imposed, describing them as onerous, particularly the requirement that Mr. Kpebu provide landed property in his own name as surety.
“These are serious matters. We are saying that the Special Prosecutor has abused his powers,” Mr. Dafeamekpor stated. He warned that since Parliament created the Office of the Special Prosecutor, continued abuse of power could lead to calls for its abrogation.
The MP for South Dayi further argued that it was unacceptable for a state institution to invite a citizen to assist in investigations and then detain that person for alleged obstruction, which he maintained was merely a misdemeanor.
He therefore insisted that the Special Prosecutor be invited to brief the House on the circumstances under which Mr. Kpebu was detained under what he described as “flimsy and whimsical” conditions.
Supporting the call, Minority MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah noted that the matter went beyond the Office of the Special Prosecutor and reflected a broader culture within investigative and law enforcement agencies.
“You appear before these bodies voluntarily to assist in investigations, but they arrest you, detain you, and impose onerous bail conditions,” he said.
He added that the Minority was particularly concerned about what it described as the growing “weaponisation” of bail conditions by investigative bodies. Mr. Nkrumah, however, urged the Majority to extend similar scrutiny to other law enforcement agencies against which similar complaints had been raised.
“If there is a practice that is untoward and it is being raised, let us look at it without partisan lenses,” he said, adding that such a broader, non-partisan inquiry would serve the public interest and safeguard Ghana’s democracy.
