Anas exposé or a Ghanaian problem?
The whole country is awash in the juicy and mouth-watering revelations in a yet-to-be-released video and audio exposé of corruption in our judicial service.
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Normally something related to corruption in any of our public institutions should not be a matter of acute public concern since we all accept the corruptibility of public officials.
But the prospect of seeing our lords of the bench physically taking bribes has given this pending story a force and power it would not have garnered otherwise.
I do not agree with Anas that this exposé will shake the foundations of this democracy. The vacancies created would be filled by equally qualified individuals, and carefulness in public and private conduct will now be the order of the day in the judicial service. I do not see how this hyperbolic claim regarding the cleansing of a public institution is a threat to us. It is rather an improvement and a fillip to our democracy.
So, I have the strong feeling that the uproar surrounding this would last for only a short period, and our attention would return to our favourite topic; who wins the December 2016 general election, and its adventitious sideshows, current happenings in the two major parties. I am aware the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sees this latest Anas exposé as a relief from the unending tales of vicious divisions in its ranks, and in fact, scrolling through online treatment of this story should leave no one in any doubt as to the wishes of the party, encapsulated in party leader Nana Akufo-Addo’s admonition to party faithful to desist from media discussion of his party’s internal wranglings.
But such a hope would be shortlived precisely because of the Anas story. Some of us, and quite rightly so, cannot get a handle on it without dragging in current partisan politics. This is inevitable because justice in society and the delivery of justice, are important political matters, led and directed by our political leaders. It is impossible to separate the two.
Distraction from NPP problems
Of particular interest to some of us is the non-involvement of the president of the Supreme Court panel that heard the 2012 election petition, His Lordship William Atuguba. Even though the work of Anas was on High Court judges and below, dragging in this eminent Supreme Court justice because he was the president of the court that heard the petition in 2013, is seen by some of us, as necessary to distract attention from the problems of the NPP. It is curious that the same people who do this are well aware that the same Justice Atuguba also presided over the Supreme Court panel years earlier which gave a hitherto government property on the Independence venue in Accra to Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, former NPP national chairman. This is one reason why justice is inherently political.
Two or three years ago, when the subject of corruption in the judiciary reared its head, it was championed by known legal practitioners with a pro-government bent; David Annan, Dr Atuguba and the late Laari Bimi of the National Commission for Civic Education. They were lambasted and roasted by lawyers from the other side, and I remember very well the trite reaction of Egbert Faibille that corruption in the judiciary was only a matter of perception, a facile but common way to confront the issue of corruption.
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Now that we have been promised the release of real, physical evidence, we are faced with the problem of how to deal with the culpable judges and officials, if only to preserve the alleged incorruptibility of justice in this country.
This is because it would be a stretch of faith to believe that effective prosecution and convictions by the professional colleagues of the suspects would in and of themselves be possible. It would be enough to let all such fingered high and mighty officials of state leave the service, and fill the vacancies as quickly as possible.
Of course, this assumes that the initial process would not be bogged down by barren, futile technicalities propounded by fancy and feckless lawyers defending the culprits.
Injunction
I hear some of the named judges are trying to seek an injunction to stop the publication of the Anas exposé. Really? It would be interesting to know which judge will grant such an injunction to prevent public knowledge of the workings of a critical arm of the government. Who was the American Supreme Court justice who famously said that ‘’secrecy in government is the incubator of corruption?’’
I admire Anas for indulging liberally, with benefit to the public welfare, in the wholesome practice of naming names and daring the powerful to respond to his well-grounded investigative journalism. Our people are fond of seeking the cover-up, protecting from personal embarrassment and public ridicule, those who have wantonly abused the public trust.
The other day, I was furious with a woman who claimed the pastor of a Ghanaian church in London refused to christen her child in church because she had no husband.
What did this woman owe the pastor and his church which had publicly disgraced her and yet she refused to name them? She actually declined the christening and left the church.
If Anas’ efforts over the years result in more exposes putting names and faces to his work, then he is well on his way to helping the fight for transparency in public affairs in this country.
Of course, I cannot help but be extremely happy that some of the judges who lorded it over us, abusing their acclaimed constitutional independence, who heard high-profile cases, and gave astonishing judgements, are among those caught on tape.
I will humbly suggest to His Lordship Jones Dotse of the Supreme Court to consider amending his famous sentence about the creation, looting and sharing of monies from fraudulent judgement-debt cases to include members of the lower courts.