…GH¢500 Bribe Allegation As Chris Ackummey ‘Fingers’ ‘Ghost Judge’, Accomplice & Mentions 3 Witnesses Including Raymond Okudzeto!
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police has been formally invited by the Judicial Service to help authenticate the veracity or otherwise of an allegation made by a private legal practitioner, Mr. Chris Ackummey to the effect that in 2008 a judge took a bribe of GH¢500.
According to our usually reliable sources within the Police CID, the latter received a formal request in a letter dated June 2, 2011 from the office of the Judicial Service, signed by Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong, Judicial Secretary, intimating that, “to assure integrity, the Honourable Lady Chief Justice has directed that the matter be referred to your outfit for independent and thorough investigations and a report presented on it”.
Mr. Ackummey, who is also a member of the Legal Team of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) made the allegation on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme on May 21, 2011. HE REVEALED THAT HE COLLECTED THE ‘BRIBE MONEY’ FROM HIS WIFE AND GAVE IT TO THE ‘PAYERS OF THE BRIBE’ FOR ONWARD TRANSMISSION TO THE JUDGE THROUGH AN UNNAMED REGISTRAR OF THE COURTS.
Mr. Ackummey was subsequently invited in writing on May 23, 2011 by the Director of the Complaints Unit of the Judicial Service to provide more information on his allegation by May 31, 2011 so it could be investigated and the appropriate action taken thereafter.
In his written response on May 31, 2011, Mr. Ackummey named Justice Andrew Amosah Abanga, who according to records at the Judicial Service passed away on April 4, 2008 and was buried on June 20, 2008, as the recipient of the GH¢500 ‘bribe money’ which he (Chris Ackummey) had collected from his wife.
Police CID sources further intimated to our roving scouts that Ackummey also mentioned three people who he claimed would help substantiate his allegation against the late Justice A.A. Abanga. The three, who Ackummey described as “Anlo leaders” are Rocky Amudzi, Raymond Okudzeto and Koku Agbetorwoka.
Mr. Ackummey indicated that he and the “three other Anlo leaders” named above, desirous of ascertaining the truth, had gone to meet the youth of Anloga at Ho in order to witness the delivery of the GH¢500 to the Judge on Saturday, 10 November, 2007. He claimed that the youth of Anloga had earlier told him (Ackummey) that “they were approached by a representative of the Judge to ‘do something’ to be assisted this time around”.
According to Ackummey when he and the three witnesses got to Ho, “WE WERE MADE TO MEET THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE JUDGE, ONE MR. MOSES TAMAKLOE WHO OBJECTED TO OUR PRESENCE AND REFUSED US GOING WITH HIM TO SEE THE JUDGE”.
He claimed that Mr. Tamakloe finally allowed only Mr. Koku Agbetorwoka to go with him (Tamakloe) to deliver the amount and to witness its acceptance.
“THE REST OF US WAITED IN A RESTAURANT AND UPON THEIR RETURN, THEY CONFIRMED IN THE PRESENCE OF EACH OTHER THAT THE AMOUNT WAS RECEIVED BY THE JUDGE. MY INITIAL REACTION FOR BEING THERE WAS TO OBTAIN EVIDENCE PERSONALLY OF THE DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE MONEY BUT THIS COULD NOT MATERIALISE DUE TO MY NOT GOING WITH MESSRS MOSES TAMAKLOE AND KOKU AGBETORWOKA TO THE JUDGE”, disclosed Mr. Ackummey in his written response to the Complaints Unit of the Judicial Service, a copy of which is in the possession of the Police CID, courtesy of the Judicial Service.
Conspicuously missing from Mr. Ackummey’s written response to the Complaints Unit of the Judicial Service, is his ‘Newsfile account or story’ of how he had to persuade his wife to part with her GH¢500 which he (Ackummey) subsequently gave to the ‘bribers’ for onward delivery to the judge via an unnamed registrar of the court.
Attached to the June 2, 2011 letter, for the attention of the Police CID, were a voice recording of Mr. Ackummey’s allegation made on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme, a copy of the letter inviting Ackummey to lodge a formal complaint with the Public Complaints Unit of the Judicial Service, Ackummey’s written response, a Memo from the Director of the Complaints Unit to the Hon. Lady Chief Justice’s Secretariat informing her of the death of Justice Abanga and a letter from a family member of the late Justice A.A. Abanga informing the Judicial Service of his death and the burial permit.
Our Police CID sources have intimated that although the “principal suspect”, the judge who allegedly took the GH¢500 ‘bribe money’ is dead, the Statutory Provisions on Corruption, particularly Section 20 of Criminal Offences Act (Act 29) provide the basis for continued interest by the Police CID in the matter referred to it by the Judicial Service; stressing that “by law there is no statute of limitation to criminal prosecution”.
Our CID sources underscored that Section 20(4) of the Criminal Offences Act (Act 29) provides that “AN ABETTOR MAY BE TRIED BEFORE, WITH OR AFTER A PERSON ABETTED, AND ALTHOUGH THE PERSON ABETTED IS DEAD OR IS OTHERWISE NOT AMENABLE TO JUSTICE”.
Section 20 (1) (Abetment of a Criminal Offence) provides that “a person who, directly or indirectly, instigates, commands, counsels, procures, solicits, or in any other manner purposely aids, facilitates, encourages, or promotes, whether by a personal act or presence or otherwise, and a person who does an act for the purpose of aiding, facilitating, encouraging, or promoting the commission of a criminal offence by any other person, wither known or unknown, certain or uncertain, commits the criminal offence of abetting that criminal offence, and of abetting the other person in respect of that criminal offence”.
Section 20 (2) also provides that “A PERSON WHO ABETS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE SHALL, IF THE CRIMINAL OFFENCE IS ACTUALLY COMMITTED IN PURSUANCE OF, OR DURING THE CONTINUANCE OF, THE ABETMENT, BE DEEMED TO HAVE COMMITTED THAT CRIMINAL OFFENCE”.
Section 20 (3) states that “a person who abets a criminal offence is, if the criminal offence is not actually committed; (a) “liable to imprisonment for life where the criminal offence abetted was punishable by death; and (b) “in any other case the abettor is punishable in the same manner as if the criminal offence had been actually committed in pursuance of that abetment”.
Stay tuned for even more dramatic developments on the matter involving the other four Lawyers whose allegations are being investigated by the General Legal Council (GLC) upon a complaint filed before it (GLC) by the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG).
