Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr
Veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., has described as ‘rubbish’, the spurious $5 million bribe allegation levelled against the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.
The Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide said the issue should be thrown into the trash can because the allegations are unfounded and patently false.
“This is useless and malicious, and it should be thrown into the trash can. It will not go anywhere. I don’t believe any iota of the allegations, but I am just an individual. This is patent rubbish,” he said on Saturday on Joy FM’s news analysis programme, ‘Newsfile’.
Probe Directive
The Chief Justice, last week directed that a formal complaint be made to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to probe allegation of bribery levelled against him.
The allegation involved a private legal practitioner, Kwasi Afrifa of O & A Legal Consult and his client Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI.
According to the chief, the lawyer allegedly demanded $100,000 to do ‘ways and means’ for his case to receive favourable judgment in court, but upon realising that the lawyer was defrauding him reported him to the General Legal Council for disciplinary action.
The lawyer in turn claimed that his client (chief) once told him that Justice Anin Yeboah demanded a bribe of US$5 million from him (Ogyeedom) to ensure a successful outcome of his case.
The chief later said the lawyer, who he said, he fired from the case, has refunded about $40,000 to him and also claimed that he fired him because he realised the lawyer apart from messing up his case, also harboured some hatred for the Chief Justice.
Judicial Secretary
The Judicial Secretary, Justice Cynthia Pamela Addo, in a letter to the Inspector General of Police and copied to the media, said this is to ensure that the matter is fully investigated, and any necessary action thereof.
The letter indicated that the Chief Justice had further directed that a petition be lodged with the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) in respect of the specific matter, noting that he is “available to assist with all investigations into this matter, while he considers his own civil legal options to ensure that this matter is dealt with to its logical conclusions.”
“The attention of His Lordship the Chief Justice has been drawn to copies of letters from a Lawyer (Akwasi Afrifa, Esq) and his client, the plaintiff in the matter of Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta IV versus Ghana Telecommunications Company & Lands Commission, to the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council, and which letters are making rounds on social media,” the letter noted.
According to the correspondence, Justice Anin Yeboah is “saddened that without any shred of evidence, his name has been dragged into this sordid and potentially criminal matter.”
The Chief Justice said that he did not know the plaintiff and had not met or seen him anywhere, “except in the courtroom when he rises to announce his name when his case is called.”
According to the statement, the chief asserted that he had no personal interaction either with the plaintiff or his lawyer on this matter or in any other matter, and added that he (Chief Justice) has not demanded or received any money from any person to influence any decision in “this matter or any other matter.”
“Indeed, the records show that the plaintiff unsuccessfully petitioned for the recusal of His Lordship the Chief Justice and His Lordship Justice Victor Jones Mawulom Dotse from the matter, on a claim that they were prejudiced against him,” the letter disclosed.
It indicated further that the records further showed that the Chief Justice was the only judge on a panel, who recently on March 31, 2021 dissented in an application at the instance of the plaintiff Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta IV in favour of the respondent, Ghana Telecommunications Co. Limited.
By Ernest Kofi Adu