Judicial scandal: Anas’ video must be aired – GII

Source: citifmonline.com - The local arm of Transparency International, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), has encouraged investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas to release his latest corruption exposé following reports that there is pressure on him not to show the video.

Anas Aremeyaw Anas in a yet-to-be-released video filmed more than 30 judges and about 100 court officials taking bribes.

Some of the indicted judges have tendered in their resignation letters and also handed over official vehicles in a bid to avoid the imminent embarrassment, but the judicial council has reportedly rejected their letters.

Others are also reported to be making attempts to secure an injunction to stop the documentary from being aired.

The journalist has come under intense pressure since the news broke, from high-profile personalities to convince him to abandon the move to expose the rot in the country’s judiciary.

However, the Executive Director of the GII in an interview with Citi News urged Anas to go ahead with the public showing of the video.

“Anas did the investigations with a purpose, and he spent money doing it. He does not need to ask us whether he should release it or not. If it is not released, will he achieve the aims of the investigation? So Anas should be able to take a decision to release it. In any case, one of the tools of fighting corruption is naming and shaming so there should be nothing wrong with releasing it.”

Mr. Azeem said attempts by influential persons in society to cover up their ills hamper the fight against corruption.

“If it is released, it will put pressure on the authorities to act promptly on it. In any case, part of the information is already out there and some names have already been mentioned out there so why don’t we put them in the public domain so that the people can defend themselves?”

Meanwhile, reports in some quarters of the media say the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, is initiating disciplinary action against the implicated judges.

The Judicial Council will be investigating the judges at the lower courts while those in the High Courts will require the President to instruct the Chief Justice to set up a committee to look into the conduct of the judges.

The two-year investigative piece titled ‘Ghana in the Eyes of God – Epic of Injustice,’ is set to premiere at the Accra International Conference Centre on September 22.