The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has stated that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) does not have the integrity to investigate the bribery allegation levelled against Chief Justice His Lordship Anin-Yeboah.
The party is claiming that the history of the CID in investigating some top government officials makes it difficult to trust them in probing the matter.
General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah addressing a press conference on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, said cases such as the Australian visa scandal was not thoroughly investigated by the CID.
”We are of the considered view that the recent history of the Police CID with respect to investigations into allegations against high-ranking officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government would not afford the sort of confidence that must be engendered in an investigation such as this considering the elevated position of the person against whom these allegations have been made.
We recall how corruption cases like the Australia Visa fraud scandal, the Galamsey fraud scandal, the 500 missing excavators scandal, just to mention a few ended in clear cover-ups when handled by the Police CID. The magnitude and gravity of this matter calls for utmost transparency and confidence-building which the CID cannot muster at the moment.”
He wants parliament to invoke Article 278 to compel the President to establish a committee to probe the matter in a transparent manner.
”Also, we think that due to the considerable public interest involved in this matter, another effective and transparent approach in the circumstance would be a full-blown public inquiry. This can be done by invoking Article 278 of the 1992 Constitution under which Parliament can by a resolution compel the President to set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the matters at hand in a transparent manner and make a faithful determination thereof.”
The statement added: ”We also disagree with the referral of these allegations to the General Legal Council’s Disciplinary Committee by the Chief Justice, for the sole reason that it is an offshoot of a body Chaired by the person at the center of these allegations-the Chief Justice. The likelihood for an impartial and balanced investigation by them into this matter would be quite minimal so long as the Chief Justice remains at [the] post. We, therefore, believe that the GLC should stay in its hands over this matter pending the final determination of the issue by independent state organizations cloaked with [the] requisite authority to do so.
Best practice would require that the Chief Justice steps aside temporarily until the matters are looked into and a clear outcome emerges and we believe this instance calls for such an action.
Friends from the media, in making these calls, we are guided by the supreme interest of governance and the preservation of the image of critical state institutions like the Judiciary and its leaders especially the Chief Justice. No iota of doubt must remain about its integrity and credibility and it is absolutely imperative that everything is done to guarantee this.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com