CHRAJ boss probe committee submits report to President

The five-member committee set up to investigate the petition against the Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Lauretta Vivian Lamptey, yesterday submitted its report to the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood.

A statement signed by the Judicial Secretary, Mr Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong, said the submission of the report was in line with Article 146 (4) of the 1992 Constitution.

It said pursuant to Article 146 (5) of the Constitution, the Chief Justice had forwarded the report to President John Dramani Mahama.

The statement said the Chairperson, Justice Anin Yeboah, a Justice of the Supreme Court, remarked that the parties cooperated fully with the committee.

It said the Chief Justice thanked the committee for its work.

Complaints
The committee investigated complaints of serious misconduct, inappropriate exercise of office, serious misjudgement, breaches of the law and public trust against the CHRAJ boss.

A petition by Mr Richard Nyamah of the Progressive Nationalists Forum (PNF) and Mr Frank Annor-Dompreh, the Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, to the President sought for the removal of the CHRAJ boss, following investigations by the Daily Graphic that uncovered trails of staggering expenditure by Ms Lamptey on her accommodation at the African Union (AU) Village, the cost of renovation of her official residence and her hotel bills, all at the expense of the state.

The committee was set up in January this year after the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, had established a prima facie case against the embattled commissioner.

Per the prima facie case, the CHRAJ boss is guilty of the accusations after preliminary investigations until there is a contrary proof.

Committee
The committee is made up of two justices of the Supreme Court, an Appeal Court judge and two other members whose appointments were based on the advice of the Council of State.

They are Mr Justice A.A. Benin, a Supreme Court judge; Ms Justice Mariama Owusu, a Court of Appeal judge; Mr Edwin P.D. Barnes, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, and Brigadier-General Fuseini Iddrisu.

With the position of Commissioner of CHRAJ being equal to that of a judge of the Court of Appeal, the procedure for Ms Lamptey's removal from office can only start with credible evidence of corruption and abuse of office from the Chief Justice's investigations.