Ghanaian opposition parliamentarian, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has swallowed back his bribery claim against a justice of the Supreme Court during an election for a Speaker of Parliament early this year.
In an interview with Accra-based Joy News Muntaka, who is also the Chief Whip of the NDC caucus in parliament accused a Justice of the Supreme Court of attempting to induce a colleague NDC MP to vote for Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye as the Speaker.
“So we [NDC] are going to look into it. We will look at the time he made those calls,” he stated.
However, in a statement on Saturday, the Asawase MP his assertion has done a great deal of harm to the reputation of the Judicial Service and would want to retract it and apologise.
“Based upon good counsel, I have also decided to let sleeping dogs lie and will consequently refrain from any further public commentary on the matter which, as I have indicated was originally reported to me by a female colleague parliamentarian,” he said.
Below is the full statement:
Apologise
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) wants National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, to substantiate claims of bribery against a Supreme Court judge or retract it immediately.
According to the GBA, having assessed the claims, it finds it “offensive and distasteful”.
“The Bar has read and viewed with great concern, accusations made in the media in recent times with respect to the judiciary, the bar finds the allegations offensive and distasteful. They incite hatred among the public with regard to judges, expose them to ridicule and put them into disrepute,” the GBA president Anthony Forson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, has assured that he would ascertain the facts involved in the allegation that a Justice of the Supreme Court tried to bribe a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament-Elect (MP) to influence her in the election for a Speaker of Parliament.
“The general public is hereby assured that the Hon Chief Justice considers this allegation of impropriety a matter of grave import to the integrity of the Judiciary.”
“The Hon Chief Justice is therefore taking steps to solicit the assistance of Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, MP, to establish the facts so that the matter can be dealt with appropriately. The public will be apprised of any further development in due course,” the statement added.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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