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| Georgina Wood |
Thirty-four Ghanaian judges face impeachment in the coming weeks as an exposé about to hit Ghana entangles them in a damning corruption scandal.
The high profile judges
including, Justice John Ajet-Nassam, a High Court Judge, who freed Alfred
Agbesi Woyome in the controversial Gh¢51 million judgment debt scandal, have
been videotaped and audio recorded in separate conversations with suspects or
persons acting as agents of suspects before them to compromise big cases.
Anas has since petitioned
the Judicial Service and is requesting the removal from office of the culprits,
whose names are yet to be released.
The ace journalist and
officials of the Judicial Service are tight-lipped over the issue, but snippets
of information picked up by the Daily Graphic indicate that all the affected
officials will be interdicted, while the Judicial Service conducts further
investigations.
It has also emerged that
there is immense tension at the service, following rumours that some judges,
who sat on high- profile cases in the past, have been identified in the
scandal.
Five of the judges are
said to have fallen sick suddenly, with one suffering a mild stroke. Others are
reported to be pleading with higher authorities to be permitted to resign in
lieu of prosecution.
It is not clear whether
or not the culprits will be prosecuted, but a highly placed source at the
Judicial Service said: “We have received a copy of the petition and we are
looking into the issue thoroughly. Ghanaians will be updated in due course.”
Corruption
The Judiciary is
perceived to be one of the most corrupt institutions of state, and although a
couple of judges and Judicial Service staff have either been interdicted or
dismissed for wrongful acts, this new video explicitly captures judges and
court clerks extorting money and receiving bribes.
A couple of lawyers, with
whom the Daily Graphic spoke,
said they had also gathered some information regarding the scandal.
Speaking on condition of
anonymity, some of them said the situation was scandalous and expressed the hope
that it would lead to the ridding of the judicial system of those who were
corrupt.
Some members of the
public are excited about the build-up to the airing of the video.
Social media is rife with
information regarding the alleged scandal, but no names have been dropped yet.
Anas, in a recent media
encounter, gave hint of the magnitude of his latest investigations.
Source: Pulse.com.gh
