Shaanxi Bribery case: Court acquits accused persons

Rejoinder: An earlier version of this story with the caption " Court exonerates former presidential staffer, Rockson Bukari, 3 others of bribery charge" has been modified after it emerged that it was misleading and based on half truths.

A Bolgatanga Circuit Court has acquitted and discharged persons involved in a bribery case involving Mr Rockson Bukari, a former Minister of State at the Presidency and Mr Edward Adeti, an Investigative journalist with EIB Network.

The Court, presided over by Mr Malcom Bedrah, a circuit Judge, also ruled that the brand-new motorbike and a cash of GHC5,000 that were purported to be given to Mr Adeti, as bribe by officials of the Shaanxi Mining Company Limited to influence him not to expose a High Court judge, Justice Jacob Boon, be given to him.

It would be recalled that the former Minister of State at the office of the Vice President took a decision to resign from government in 2019 after it was alleged, in a tape recording, that he and three other persons namely; Mr Charles Taleog Ndanbon and Maxwell Wooma, of the Shaanxi mining Ghana Limited and Mr Suwaid Abdul-Mumin, the former personal assistant of Mr Bukari, planned to stop a news report involving the Chinese mining company and the High Court judge.

In the said case, Mr Adeti alleged that he was bribed with a brand-new motorbike and a cash of GHC5, 000 to stop the story from being published.

However, after the lawyers for the accused persons filed a motion for submission of no case, the Circuit Judge acquitted and discharged the accused persons on the grounds that the police prosecution team could not establish before the court that the complainant, Mr Adeti was a public officer.

The Judge who explained that the police prosecution team failed to establish before the court that the complainant Mr Adeti was a public officer, stressed that the journalist was not a Public worker and did not draw his salary from the Consolidated Fund, adding, “per the law, a journalist could not be portrayed as somebody being bribed”.

However, in the court proceedings, the lawyer for Mr Ndanbon, Mr Wooma and Mr Suwaid Abdul-Mumin, Mr Joseph Awakpaksa, told the court that Mr Adeti was a friend of Ndanbon and had been visiting his house and made a request for a motorbike and cash to help him after he had performed some assignments for him.

He therefore stressed that apart from the journalist working in a private business entity coupled with the fact that he allegedly appealed to Mr Ndanbon for support, it could not be seen as ground of justification of bribery.