Former presidential staffer Charles Bissue has suffered another legal setback after an Accra High Court dismissed his application seeking to throw out nine corruption and abuse of office charges brought against him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Mr. Bissue, alongside two co-accused persons, Raphael Mensah and Dr. Naa Dedei Tagoe, is facing trial over allegations of corruption and illegal mining-related concessions.
In his latest challenge, Mr. Bissue urged the court to dismiss the case on three grounds: claiming an earlier case against him remained pending, asserting that a previous police investigation had cleared him of wrongdoing, and arguing that the OSP lacked the statutory power to investigate matters not directly referred to it by the police.
However, the court ruled against him on all fronts, describing the grounds of the application as frivolous.
On the claim that a prior case was still active, the court inspected the official records dated 3 July 2025, which showed that the earlier matter had been formally withdrawn and struck out. Although Mr. Bissue’s counsel, Mr. Augustine Obour, questioned the record by stating he could not recall being present in court on that date, the judge ruled that a lawyer’s failure to recall a sitting was insufficient to impeach official judicial records. Mr. Obour subsequently withdrew his challenge to the record.
The recent dismissal brings into sharp focus a growing paradox surrounding Mr. Bissue’s ongoing legal struggle: his public insistence on wanting a speedy trial versus his repeated courtroom filings that pause or delay the main criminal proceedings.
Through various media outlets, Mr. Bissue has frequently complained about delays in his prosecution, at times claiming he has been standing trial since 2017—a timeline that predates the creation of the OSP in 2018 and blends pre-charge administrative inquiries with formal courtroom trials.
Yet official OSP records reveal that since 2023, Mr. Bissue and his legal team have initiated at least eight separate lawsuits and constitutional challenges across different levels of the court system, including the High Court, the Human Rights Division, the District Court, and the Supreme Court.
These filings include:
Suit No. J5/8/2025: Republic v High Court, Accra Human Rights Division (Ex Parte Charles Bissue)
Suit No. GJ/0098/2023: Republic v Office of the Special Prosecutor (Ex Parte Charles Bissue)
Suit No. J8/08/2025: Republic v High Court, Accra Human Rights Division (Ex Parte Charles Bissue)
Suit No. GJ/0928/2023: Republic v District Court, Kaneshie & OSP (Ex Parte Charles Bissue)
Suit No. HR/0094/2023: Charles Bissue v Office of the Special Prosecutor
Suit No. GJ/0358/2023: Charles Bissue v OSP, Anas Aremeyaw Anas & Tiger Eye P.I.
Suit No. HR/0101/2023: Charles Bissue v Kaneshie District Court
Suit No. H3/458/2025: Charles Bissue v Office of the Special Prosecutor & Kaneshie District Court
While every accused person enjoys the constitutional right to test the legal foundation of a prosecution, pursuing multiple preliminary injunctions and jurisdictional suits naturally halts or slows the criminal proceedings.
The legal battle stems from allegations that Mr. Bissue compromised his public office by demanding and receiving financial considerations to facilitate the unlawful issuance of a mining concession sticker, enabling a commercial entity to commence mining operations without a valid license.
While an earlier co-accused person, Thomas Andy Owusu, pleaded guilty under a plea agreement in June 2025 and was convicted, the OSP withdrew the original charge sheet and filed a fresh case on 1 July 2025 (Suit No. CR/0559/2025). This expanded the case to nine counts involving Mr. Bissue, Mr. Mensah, and Dr. Tagoe. All three have pleaded not guilty.
