Judicial corruption: Anas gets immunity from prosecution, civil action

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, has given investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, immunity from prosecution and any civil action for his latest investigation that has uncovered massive corruption among judges.

The grant of immunity to Anas is per Section 19 of the Whistle-blowers’ Act (Act 720).

This was revealed by legal practitioner Ace Akomah in an interview on  Accra-based radio Joy FM, Wednesday morning.

According to Ace Ankomah, the Attorney General has affirmed the latest work by Anas and revealed that the judges from the lower courts in the scandal would either today or tomorrow appear before a disciplinary committee at the behest of the Chief Justice.

“I understand the processes are beginning today. Many of the judges have been called either today or tomorrow to start facing the various disciplinary committees. That’s for the lower courts,” he said.

He said the processes for High Court judges are different as theirs is provided for in the constitution, saying, “the high court judges’ is a different procedure.”

“The constitution completely takes it out of the hands of the straight out pure judiciary system to ensure that…it’s a similar investigation that the CHRAJ boss is going through,” he explained.

Anas investigation

In the latest investigation piece by Anas which is yet to be premiered in Accra, thirty-four judges at the country’s High Courts, the Circuit and District courts were captured on camera taking bribes from litigants whose cases come before them.

Some of the culprits have also been linked to sex scandals in the three-hour edited video emanating from a two-year investigation into corrupt practices in the Judicial Service.

Anas has since petitioned the President John Dramani Mahama, the Chief Justice and the Attorney General to begin processes to remove the judges found in the video to be taking bribes and extorting money from litigants