By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Friday, September 25, 2015
Folks, I am really perturbed by comments from all manner of people reacting to the commendable work done by Anas Aremeyaw Anas in exposing the rot that has paralyzed Ghana's judiciary and turned it into a huge laughing stock all over the world.
Diverse comments have come from segments of the society, some of which have sought to discredit Anas' innovative approach to exposing the rot instead of commending him for being bold to confirm what some of us have been complaining about all these years. So-called lawyers (the exposed judges and magistrates themselves and their useless lawyers contracted to whitewash them, with John Ndebugre leading the pack) have been in the news, making ugly noise to discredit Anas. It won't wash with us; and it hasn't.
Some have even described Anas as the most lawless person in the world (Ndebugre at issue here) and the exposed judges/magistrates themselves have been doing acrobatics to divert attention from reality. Justice Dery, for instance, is running wild, using subterfuge to attempt running away from reality. It won't wash with us.
I recall John Ndebugre as a member of Jerry Rawlings' administration in those days. And he even became a Secretary for Agriculture. Such a drunkard and a dunce!! From his inane comments so far, I am bothered that his kind have contributed to the woes of governance in the country. And he was even an MP. Such trash!! (Harsh language here for good reason).
Those who think that Anas has used "unconstitutional" or "unorthodox" means to gather information about the corrupt deeds of the judges are deceived outright. He is right in whatever he has done to bring out the evidence that we have been yearning for to prove that our judiciary is deep down in the trench of corruption.
Now that his video recording has been publicly shown and suspicions confirmed thereby, what is there again to prevent punitive action being taken against the culprits? Their recourse to legal technicalities won't salve their conscience or save them from the sad end that awaits them; that is if Georgina Wood will come clean to tackle the problem as it is and not fear being exposed herself as the hub of all that Anas has revealed. Those who have the facts will definitely spill the beans along the way. Will she be afraid of her own shadow, then and incapacitated thereby? It is a chain of command, when it comes to palm-greasing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm!!
Is the Chief Justice really in control of the Judiciary? If she were, nothing of the sort that has happened so far could. There is too much laxity here.
In the teeth of it all, one expects that the state machinery will be put to good use to prove to the corrupt judges and all others implicated that the net has closed in on them. But we don't see anything being done decisively. Even after the disgraced judges have chosen to contemn the committee formed by the Chief Justice to track them down and nail them for their nefarious activities, they still are misconducting themselves, walking out of sessions and pursuing court cases. The law is an ass for those who know how to straddle it!!
And as if no one knows exactly what to do after all this glaring exposure of deep-seated corruption, some public figures are emerging to muddy the waters all the more. They are making utterances to create the impression that Anas has powers to go the whole hog. It shouldn't be so.
Just read what is reported as coming from Bright Akwetey, someone seeking the CPP's nomination to become a flagbearer(apparently, Ghana's President if endorsed by the electorate):
"A private legal practitioner, Bright Akwetey has charged the courts to order undercover investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas to arrest criminals who have been freed as part of his investigative piece." (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Order-Anas-to-arrest-freed-criminals-Lawyer-383890).
Arrant stupidity on display. A despicable comment regarding what is at issue. Is it Anas' responsibility to arrest anybody? What are the state institutions (the police, particularly there for)?
I am saddened by this angle of reaction to Anas' commendable work. Is this how people who claim to be lawyers should view issues? Ghana is doomed under such characters, most of whom are abandoning their professions (as lawyers, medical practitioners, etc.) to do active and partisan politics. How do these Ghanaian lawyers think at all? That they can inject their legal nonsense into rational politics where facts are facts and not a matter of conjecture or rhetorical effusions (using loquacity to make the worst case the best in the eyes of the judges/magistrates with whom they share the spoils of their dealings with those bribing them)?
There is a major problem here to consider as far as the character and professional standing of some of these lawyers are concerned. I still want to fix my eyes on the NPP's Akufo-Addo who was freed by the mafia in the judiciary when put on the spotlight by Justice Francis Kpegah. Trust me, folks, there is a lot to look for. He claims to be incorruptible but will be proved otherwise.
One big question says it all. Why hasn't he reacted to the Anas exposure of corruption in the judiciary? I am ready to stick my neck out to say that he hasn't been bold enough to do so because he has something to fear, being himself a product of the deep-seated corruption that has made Ghana's judiciary a mafia system to support frauds like him. I will return to this aspect later. Otherwise, what is the General Legal Council saying, even with retrospective/hindsight assessment of its own role in enrolling those who couldn't produce their qualifying certificates?
Akufo-Addo did not produce his law certificate but got enrolled. He alone was called to the bar on the occasion, even when there was no documentary proof apart from the extract of entry that showed his admission to the Middle Temple. Nothing to prove that he had successfully completed his training and been certified by Middle Temple. Yet, the General Legal Council put him on the roll of lawyers of Ghana!! We will continue to pursue this issue for what it is.
Why is it that the NPP hasn't come out with any official statement in support of Anas' work? There is much water running under the bridge. With this sordid stance, Ghana stands to gain little---extremely little---from such characters if the assume the mantle of leadership. I cringe at the future in the hands of such frauds!!!
And why is the government not being actively invested in goings-on? What is the Attorney-General's Department doing as of now to re-assure Ghanaians that the apparatus for justice delivery is intact? Nothing!! Depressing!!!
Too many worries because it is not just a matter for the judiciary alone to lose sleep over. It concerns the entire governmental set-up. A weak judiciary cannot help us grow our democracy. Too saddening!!
And why should the tax-payer continue to support such a system? Therein lies the danger for our democracy, not the senseless street demonstrations by Akufo-Addo and his morons or the justifiable highhanded actions by the police to put them where they belong.
If the justice delivery system is warped, nothing can happen to move the democracy forward. Otherwise, the law will continue to be a respecter of persons in Ghana. And when the law respects people, the country sags!!
I shall return…
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