The African Union Advisory Board on Corruption at its recent Ordinary Session in Arusha, Tanzania called on Ghana to emulate Kenya in efforts to cleanse its judiciary.
Ghana’s judiciary was recently hit with bribery allegations after investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas screened a documentary that showed some judges and magistrates taking bribes to pervert justice.
Anas petitioned the Chief Justice and the President over his exposé.
The resultant five-member committee set up by the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, has led to the suspension of seven high court judges and 22 circuit court judges and magistrates.
At its 18th Session, according to its chairman, the Board raised concerns about the situation in Ghana, recommending that it emulates Kenya in building the trust of Ghanaians in the administration of justice.
Speaking on TV3’s Midday Live on Tuesday, October 13, Daniel Batidam said Kenya’s landmark investigation of judges in 2011 led to measures taken to save the judiciary from losing public confidence.
He mentioned as an example that authorities in Kenya established a judges and magistrates’ vetting board by law, a move worth emulating, he suggested, in Ghana.
Some old judges [in Kenya] who used to serve on lower courts, Mr Batidam cited, were sanctioned after investigations revealed that they compromised their positions.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|editors.3news.com|Ghana
