Commission cautions media to stop false publications

The Judgment Debt Commission on Thursday advised the media to ensure it did not use the Commission as a conduit to advance the personal interest of people.

Mr Daniel Kofi Sokpor, Counsel for the Commission, said the media should note that such actions could constitute contempt of the Commission and should, therefore, stop those false publications.

Mr Sorkpor was speaking at a press conference on attempts by a section of the media to damage the reputation of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Martin Amidu, using the Commission as a conduit.

Mr Sokpor said two publications were sighted on Friday, October 10, 2014, by a paper called the True Spokesman, with the headlines; “Martin Amidu’s Gargantuan lies exposed, why internal memo leaked should have nailed former Attorney-General for perjury; and Public Angry at Citizens Vigilante ‘for peddling judgment debt lies.”

Another publication, on October 17, 2014, by the same paper, had the headline; “Martin Amidu goes into hiding after gargantuan lies were exposed.’’

Mr Sokpor said the publications purported to portray that Mr Martin Amidu petitioned this Commission with information heavily loaded with falsities and blatant gargantuan lies.

According to Mr Sokpor, the Commission did not know how and where the paper gathered that false information.

The Commission, therefore, stated emphatically that it was not Mr Martin Amidu who brought to the notice or attention of the Commission the judgment entered in favour of Gbewaa Civil Engineering Co and Yakubu Adam Kasule as a result of the purported “Terms of Settlement” reached between Mr Kasule and the former Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu.

The issue of the judgment entered in favour of Kasule based on the said “Terms of Settlement” was one of the judgment debt cases brought to the attention of the Commission by the Attorney-General’s Department when the Commission requested for records on all judgment debts entered against the state from 1992 to date.

Mr Sokpor said the Commission noticed that the two former Attorneys-General namely; Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu and Mr Martin Amidu had signed certain documents concerning the matter, including even some State Attorneys at the Attorney-General’s office.

In line with the Commission’s mandate, it invited the two former Attorneys-General and other state attorneys who had something to do with the case involving Gbewaa Civil Engineering and its Managing Director Adam Kasule to provide answers to some questionnaire sent to them, he said.

Mr Sorkpor said the Acting Solicitor-General was also invited to brief the Commission on the matter adding that the fact that Mr Amidu and Mrs Iddrisu were not invited to publicly face the cameras did not mean that the issue had been swept under the carpet.

The fact that the judgment entered in favour of Mr Kasule and his company by a court of competent jurisdiction did not mean that it automatically fell outside the mandate of the Commission, he said.

Mr Sokpor said the Commission was looking into all judgment debts and akin matters from 1992 to date, adding that the judgment in favour of Mr Kasule was one of such cases and the Commission shall issue a report on it.

He said it was not in all cases that witnesses were made to appear publicly before the Commission where documents were clear and unambiguous, an example being the Woyome case which the Commission would report on.

Mr Sokpor said the True Spokesman could have verified the information it obtained on the Kasule case from the Commission if it did not have any agenda against anybody.