Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka
Pressure is mounting on the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, to provide proof for his allegation that a Supreme Court judge offered an inducement to a female MP of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in an attempt to woo her to vote for Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye in the just ended Speaker election.
The NDC Chief Whip in Parliament alleged without proof on Joy News last Sunday that an unnamed judge of the apex court attempted bribing his colleague, stating “shamefully, a Supreme Court judge called a lady colleague telling her what they would give her, if she voted for Prof. Mike Oquaye. He told her that they would help her take care of her children, and she could take fuel from a filling station for free for the next four years.
The unsubstantiated allegation, which has been widely condemned by lawyers and people in academia, has now attracted the attention of civil society organizations (CSOs), who are demanding evidence.
The latest to have joined the bandwagon is the Swift Institute for Public Policy Options (SIPPO) which believes that “it will be improper and unlawful for a purported bribe giver to remain on the Supreme Court, if the allegation by Mr. Muntaka is factual.
“Founder of the SIPPO, Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie, in a statement, said the institute “is very concerned over this development, in that it has the potential of bringing into disrepute the reputations of the justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
“SIPPO has consequently called on the Asawase MP to immediately provide the name of the MP said to have received the alleged call from the judge, the name of the judge involved, the date and time of the alleged call, exact nature of conversation, whether or not this call was recorded, a copy of such recording if any, details of any relevant and corroborating evidence of the call such as phone records, and details of any reports to any authorities.
“We believe that Mr. Muntaka should make these evidences available to the generality of the press,” or the Joy News before the next date of the television programme.
According to the CSO, the MP, in the converse, ought to go back to the TV station “to controvert his statements and apologize to the justices of the Supreme Court and Ghanaians.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu