Is Ghana now a republic of corruption?

Anas Aremeyaw Anas had hinted early in the month that he was to play audios and videos of an investigation that has taken him long time to conduct. He hinted of how the outcome of that investigation could shake the foundation of our democracy.

It was unimaginable that this time his investigations were bothered on the very Judiciary which has the constitutional mandate to try persons who are alleged to be involved in corruption either in the public or civil service.

On the 9th of September, Ghanaians woke up to the news that 34 Judges of the various Courts of the Land were seen and heard in videos and audios receiving bribes and in some cases, discussing the mode in which they were to receive the bribes.

The seriousness of the matter was that some of the Judges were bargaining for bribes in cases they were adjudicating on! Question now is, was justice served in those cases? Should the Chief Justice of Ghana also investigate the specific cases under which these Judges took bribes and asked for retrials to ensure that justice was not buried?

When the very body entrusted with the power and mandate to ensure justice and fairness for all in society are caught in this manner then things have fallen apart and the judiciary of Ghana can no longer hold.

Many have hailed Anas for his dedication and commitment in his attempt to expose greedy and selfish thieves in our society. Some have even suggested that he should be given the highest award of the Republic for his mind blowing investigations into several sections of the country.

Some also are of the view that Anas was exposing himself and his family to risk by the various investigations he conducted that have in some cases gotten some people into prison or lost of their jobs.

There are some people who think that the brouhaha over the investigations by Anas will not yield anything positive to the country. To such people, all the “noises” will die out the moment a fresh news story comes out.

This is a very serious revelation by Anas. Do we know the number of murderers and armed robbers who were freed to go back and continue with their crimes because Judges took bribes and set them free?

Do we also know the number of innocent persons who were committed to prison sentences because somebody was either able to pay Judges to imprison them or innocent persons who ended in prison with bedbugs because they could not pay a Judge somewhere?

The buck must stop with the President who has the constitutional mandate to make some of these things unattractive. The President must declare his assets like President Buhari did in Nigeria. He must be seen to be a serious President who must lead by clear examples. His appointees must declare their assets. We need to respect our own constitution as a country as part of efforts to minimise if not eliminate corruption in our country.

The Judges in this case must not only be sacked but must be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others with corrupt mindsets. We must convince ourselves that our Judiciary can be trusted. Foreign investors and even local ones must be convinced beyond reasonable doubts that their investments in our country are safe and that no one would dupe them and quickly run to the nearest Judge with bags full of money to get his or her way out.

It is a good piece of news to hear that Anas has been given immunity from prosecution in all his investigations. It is also commendable that 22 of the Justices have been suspended and action is to be taken on the other 12.

President John Dramani Mahama must make corruption distasteful in his era as President. Workers are paid peanuts and in some cases the government doesn’t show serious commitment to get some industrial disputes settled in time. The case of the recent strike by doctors is a case in point.

Ghana must remain the Republic of Ghana not the Republic of corruption under President Mahama.

Writer: Akilu Sayibu

Email: akisayi@yahoo.com