By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) says the trial of former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, resumes today on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The case involving Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid was adjourned as Supreme Court addressed the legal arguments surrounding the OSP’s prosecutorial powers.
The announcement of a continuation of proceedings was made in a Facebook post on Monday, August 10, 2026, following Ghana’s Apex Court’s unanimous decision upholding the constitutionality of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
At a previous sitting on April 21, counsel for Dr Abdul-Hamid and Akbar Khomeini, challenged the standing of the prosecution, relying on a separate High Court decision which had questioned the OSP’s authority to prosecute without prior authorisation.
Since the Supreme Court’s determination on the constitutional validity of the OSP Act, which has reaffirmed the legal framework underpinning the Office’s prosecutorial mandate, proceedings in OSP cases had been suspended since April 2026 after a High Court ruling can now resume without questions about the Office’s authority to prosecute cases without prior authorisation.
Dr Abdul-Hamid is standing trial alongside two other NPA officials Jacob Kwamina Amuah, a coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund and Wendy Newman, a staff member of the NPA who are being prosecuted over an alleged scheme to extort more than GH¢291 million and US$323,407.47 from oil marketing companies and bulk oil transporters between 2022 and 2024.
According to the prosecution, the alleged scheme involved the unlawful collection of funds from industry players under various pretexts. Three private sector executives have also been charged for their alleged roles in concealing proceeds from the suspected scheme.
They are Isaac Mensa, a director of Kel Logistics Limited; Bright Bediako-Mensah, a director of Kel Logistics and Kings Energy Limited; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, a director of Kings Energy Limited.
All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been granted bail.
