The opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, says it does not trust the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police to thoroughly investigate the controversial US$ 5million bribery allegation against the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah.
The party said this based on a number of cases investigated by the department in relation to top public officials in the last four years as the reason for their objection.
Addressing the media, the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said an investigation by the CID as requested by the Chief Justice would be ineffective.
“We are of the considered view that the recent history of the Police CID with respect to investigations into allegations against high-ranking officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government would not afford the sort of confidence that must be engendered in an investigation such as this considering the elevated position of the person against whom these allegations have been made.”
“We recall how corruption cases like the Australia Visa fraud scandal, the Galamsey fraud scandal, the 500 missing excavators scandal, just to mention a few, ended in clear cover-ups when handled by the Police CID. The magnitude and gravity of this matter calls for utmost transparency and confidence-building which the CID cannot muster at the moment”, he added.
The party also wants the Chief Justice to step aside temporarily, following to allow for a probe into the $5 million bribery allegation made against him.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah at a press conference on Tuesday, 13th July 2021, argued that this will allow for a fair investigation to be conducted into allegations of misconduct leveled against the Chief Justice.
His call is borne out of the firm belief that the Judicial Service’s investigation into the alleged misconduct might be compromised, given that the Chief Justice has been vested with the power to sanction judicial officers.
The NDC called for a public enquiry into the bribery allegation, saying it is the best approach to establishing the truth.
The Chief Justice has denied the allegations and petitioned the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, to investigate the matter.
The allegations were contained in a response Mr. Akwasi Afrifa, a lawyer, gave against a petition filed against him by his client at the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council.
Ogyeedom IV, who was his client, dragged Mr. Afrifa to the GLC alleging that the lawyer collected $100,000 from him with a promise to help get a favourable judgement on his behalf.
Ogyeedom Atta IV asked the council to order Mr. Afrifa to refund the $100,000, saying the lawyer failed to deliver on his promise.
In a response dated on July 8, 2021, Mr. Afrifa denied the claims by Ogyeedom Kwesi Atta IV, further alleging that he was asked to refund $300,000 in legal fees to enable his client to raise a $5 million bribe to be paid to the Chief Justice to get a favourable decision in the legal dispute.
