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CJ Anin-Yeboah has been embroiled in a saga of alleged corruption
He was right in the past to warn the media about the coverage of the 2020 election petition
The CJ also dragged a former deputy attorney general to the General Legal Council
Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah took office in January 2020 replacing the second successive female Chief Justice of Ghana, Sophia Akuffo, who has retired.
To date, he has served for a year and a half as head of the judicial branch of the Ghanaian government, making him the fourth most powerful citizen in the country.
One of the main issues dealt with by the Supreme Court during its tenure was the petition for the 2020 presidential election which was decided in March of this year.
The 58-year-old presided over the seven-member bench that heard and determined the case which was Ghana’s second such petition after the 2012 election petition case, of which he incidentally was a part.
Following a recent corruption allegation against the CJ and its concomitant response and a call for a formal police investigation, GhanaWeb is examining four cases where the CJ publicly engaged through legal channels.
Order to media at the 2020 election petition hearing
An offshoot of the 2020 presidential petition hearings and subsequent media coverage took place when the Judicial Service issued a statement on behalf of the CJ, demanding that the media, among others, remove stories deemed “hateful and inflammatory” against the judges of the Supreme Court.
The order encountered strong opposition mainly from the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA, press and human rights groups, other civil society organizations and commentators. social.
But in what felt like a kind of flashback, the GJA and the judiciary held a joint press conference in which Supreme Court judge Yonny Kulendi delivered a message from the CJ.
“The Chief Justice says I should tell you that as administrators of the people’s power of justice, we are willing and happy to be criticized. Criticize us as harshly as you can, but for Christ’s sake don’t insult us. Don’t berate us, speak of hate, or slander us.
” Born [insult us] because like you and the work you do and the heart you put into it, it is a similar responsibility and awareness that judges use to embrace their work, ”he added.
CJ vows to investigate Muntaka’s corruption allegation
Earlier this year, the CJ through the Judicial Service informed that an investigation was to be undertaken into allegations that a Supreme Court judge attempted to influence the outcome of the election of the 8th president of the parliament.
The allegations were made by Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, deputy for Asawase, who at the time refused to appoint the said judge.
A January 13, 2021 statement signed by Judge Cynthia Pamela Addo, Judicial Secretary, read in part: “The judiciary noted with grave concern the remarks by Mubarak Muntaka, MP for Asawase, which were widely published in the media. alleging that a Supreme Court judge tried to bribe a female MP to vote for Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, in the election for a president of the 8th Legislature, which took place on January 7, 2021.
“The general public is hereby assured that the Honorable Chief Justice regards this allegation of impropriety as a matter of grave concern to the integrity of the judiciary.
He added, “The Honorable Chief Justice is therefore taking steps to seek the assistance of Deputy Mohammed Muntaka, to establish the fact so that the case can be dealt with in a proper manner.
barely a month later, the legislature reversed its allegations and duly apologized to the chief justice and the judiciary.
“Certainly because I did not name any judge specifically, it could have had the effect of scandalizing justice as a whole. This unintended consequence is deeply regretted.
“I therefore respectfully wish to retract some and apologize for the damage caused to the image and reputation of my Lords justices of the Supreme Court and the judiciary as a whole,” noted his apology in early February 2021.
CJ trains Ayine to GLC
The judiciary in June 2021 filed a petition with the General Legal Council asking that a former deputy attorney general and MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine, be questioned over comments that disparaged the Supreme Court.
Ayine, during a 2020 election petition review program, commented that the independence of the judiciary was questionable.
His comments were similar to those who had charged him with contempt and later acquitted by the court during the petition hearing after he apologized and received a warning.
During the roundtable organized by the CDD, he claimed that the way the petition was handled presupposes that there is a “pre-determined agenda” against the petitioner, i.e. former President John Dramani Mahama .
The petition from the Judicial Service read in part: “His Lordship the Chief Justice therefore finds these alleged derogatory comments totally unacceptable and wishes you to investigate this matter further.” “
Ayine has since responded to the GLC asking that the CJ’s request be dismissed, he defended his comments by saying he was commenting on how a case that ended was conducted.
His party, the National Democratic Congress and his caucus in Parliament leaned on him and called on the CJ to withdraw his petition.
Allegation of corruption of millions of US dollars
The Chief Justice formally wrote on Monday July 12 to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service to investigate a corruption allegation against him.
A private lawyer, one Akwasi Afrifa, in response to a petition filed against him by a client, alleged that the client told him about a request for a bribe of US $ 5 million from the CJ in a case that he chaired.
“He further informed me that the Chief Justice had demanded a bribe of $ 5,000,000 for a favorable outcome of his case and that he had already paid the Chief Justice $ 500,000,” he said. lawyer Afrifa said in response to his client’s request. The customer has since denied this claim in a statement.
In his letter sent by the judiciary to the police CID, the CJ denied having anything to do with the potentially criminal case and denied taking any money to influence a decision.
“His Lordship the Chief Justice is saddened that, without any evidence, his name has been dragged into this sordid and potentially criminal case.
“His Lordship further states that he neither asked for nor received money from anyone to influence a decision,” the letter said.
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