Ruling on alleged stealing charge against two judges, registrar adjourned

A high court in Accra on Thursday adjourned to April 24, to deliver judgement on the alleged stealing of GH¢115 million by two high court judges and a court registrar, because the trial judge, Mr Justice Charles Quist was indisposed.

The amount includes interest accrued on monies kept in the custody of the high court at Denu between 2000 and 2002, which got missing.

The accused persons are Justice Edward Mensah Boateng, former high court judge at Cape Coast, Justice Michael Kwasi Woanyah, former high court judge at Denu, who is now on retirement, and Jacob Dickson Owusu, senior court Registrar at the high court at Denu.

The three accused persons, who had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and stealing, were put on trial following findings made by the Disciplinary Committee of the Judicial Council, as part of efforts to clamp down on corruption within the Judiciary.

Justice Boateng, who presided over a dispute between two parties, claiming ownership of portion of land used as a quarry by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company at Denu, ordered the company to pay $50,754.94 to the court, to be held in trust for whoever emerged owner of the land being contested.

The company, subsequently, paid the amount to Owusu, the senior court Registrar, at the high court at Denu.

After the payment, Justice Boateng and Owusu connived to invest the money in a fixed deposit account, and started pocketing the interest on the amount.

They allegedly changed the dollars into cedis, and opened an account at Denu branch of Agricultural Development Bank.

However, before the deposit could mature, Justice Boateng was transferred to Sefwi-Wiawso in the Western Region, from where he occasionally dispatched his wife to Denu to withdraw the accrued interest.

Between October 2001 and May 2004, 115,173,561.66 cedis was accrued as interest on the fixed deposit, which was withdrawn seven times by Justice Woanyah, who shared it four times with Justice Boateng and three times with Owusu.

Justice Woanyah, became aware of the existence of the money when Owusu in November 2002, briefed him of the sharing arrangement between him (owusu) and Justice Boateng.

Justice Woanyah, subsequently, advised Owusu to stop sharing the money with Justice Boateng since he (Justice Woanyah) had taken over as Presiding Judge of the High court at Denu.

When information of the scandal got to the notice of the Judicial Service, a complaint was formally made to the Police, who arrested the accused persons and put them before court.

Justice Boateng is on interdiction.**