Justice Dery threatens to drag GJA to court for contempt

A justice of the High Court, Mr Justice Paul Uuter Dery, who is on suspension for alleged corruption, is contemplating filing a suit against the awards committee of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for honouring the ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

But Anas, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, said Justice Dery was entitled to exercise his rights under the 1992 Constitution.

The GJA last Saturday, August 27, 2016, for the second time, crowned Anas with the GJA’s topmost honour. He has so far won four awards for being the best in Investigative Journalism.

  But the lawyer for Justice Dery, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, is not happy with the turn of events, considering the fact that a case challenging the capacity of Anas’s investigative agency will be decided at the Supreme Court on October 27, 2016.

According to counsel, his client was considering citing Anas and the GJA’s Awards Committee for contempt of court “because the award prejudices the outcome of ongoing court proceedings which are challenging the legality of the enterprise undertaken by Tiger Eye PI and Anas”.

Counsel said he was investigating the circumstances leading to the award.

He said his client would then decide whether or not to cite the GJA for contempt after investigations.

Background

Justice Dery and two others, through their lawyer, had, in February 2016, filed a writ invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to declare, among other issues, that Tiger Eye PI did not have legal capacity to file a petition against them.

The other applicants are Justices Mustapha Habib Logoh and Gilbert Ayisi Addo, while the respondents in the case are Tiger Eye PI, the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General.

The three filed the suit after they were suspended for allegedly taking bribes. The acts were captured on video by Anas and his team.

Anas’s investigations led to the dismissal of more than 20 judges, while more than 80 members of staff of the Judicial Service are being investigated.

Justice Dery’s concern stems from the belief that Anas was rewarded for his work on the judicial scandal which, according to his lawyer, was prejudicial on the grounds that the issues were yet to be determined by the court.

Reliefs

The reliefs being sought are a declaration that the petitions that the Tiger Eye PI filed with the President of Ghana for the removal of the plaintiffs as justices of the Superior Court were inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution, as the first defendant lacked legal capacity to file the said petitions. 

They are also seeking a declaration that the President’s referral of Tiger Eye PI’s petitions to the Chief Justice to determine whether there was a prima facie case against the plaintiffs is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution, as Tiger Eye PI lacked the legal capacity to file the said petitions. 

Another relief being sought is a declaration that the Chief Justice’s request that Justices Logoh and Dery respond to the petitions filed by Tiger Eye PI for the determination of whether there was a prima facie case against them is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution, as Tiger Eye PI lacked the legal capacity to file the said petitions.