Chief Justice’s bribery allegation: ASEPA disappointed with CHRAJ’s decision

The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), has described the decision by Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to stop investigating a $5 million bribery allegation against Chief Justice Kwesi Annin Yeboah as unfortunate and disappointing.

The CJ has recently been in the news following an allegation that he had demanded a bribe of $5million from Nana Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI to help him win a case he had at the Supreme Court.

Insisting that the allegation brings the name of the Judiciary into disrepute and casts a serious slur on justice administration in the Country, ASEPA has petition CHRAJ to look into the matter.

We write to invoke the Jurisdiction of CHRAJ pursuant to Section 7(1) a) (f) of the CHRAJ Act, 1993, Act 456 and Article 281(a) (e) to investigate the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Justice Annin Yeboah for allegations of Bribery and Corruption,” part of the ASEPA petition to CHRAJ signed by its Executive Director Mensah Thompson reads.

But CHRAJ in a response to the petition said it has ceased to investigate the complaint because ASEPA had also petitioned the presidency which has begun work on it.

Since the matter is pending in the appropriate constitutional forum, the commission, in the exercise of its discretion under Section 13 of Act 456, hereby ceases to investigate the complaint any further as the invocation of the Article 456 proceedings has effectively taken the matter out of the forum of the commission,” CHRAJ said.

In an interview on Accra-based radio station, Citi FM, Thompson said CHRAJ violated their right by taken such as decision.

If you read the case in point that CHRAJ cited as the basis for truncating this process, they claim that when a plaintiff sues the same defendant in two courts, the plaintiff is elected to stay one of the proceedings and so when CHRAJ during their preliminary investigation realized that another constitutional process has been activated, did they write to us the plaintiffs to stay one of the proceedings and proceed with the other.”

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So with their own explanation, and their own case in point CHRAJ decided to unilaterally, violate the right of the plaintiffs by deciding for us which of the two processes to stay. We find this very unfortunate and disappointing”, he stated.

Meanwhile, the Council presented its report on the matter to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday, August 20, 2021.

The president has promised to study the report and announce his decision to the public.