Is the Judiciary ready to be part of anti-corruption fight? - Bright Simons on OSP's petition to CJ

Vice president of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons has asked whether the judiciary is ready to be part of the corruption fight in Ghana.

His concern is related to the petition to the Chief Justice (CJ) by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to have a judge recused on a matter involving a former minister, Cecilia Dapaah.

The OSP on October 12 announced thus: "The OSP has requested the Chief Justice to recuse and remove His Lordship Justice Edward Twum from all cases involving the OSP pending before him.

"The request is grounded on the OSP’s well-founded belief that Justice Edward Twum appears to be highly prejudiced against the OSP and the person of the Special Prosecutor.

"Consequently, as it stands, the OSP would not and cannot be reasonably expected to be parties to proceedings before the said judge."

The said judge is hearing corruption and corruption-related cases involving the seizure of monies and freeze of bank accounts of Cecilia Dapaah, a former sanitation minister who resigned over a financial scandal.

Simons quoted the OSP's tweet and remarked: "Being watched very closely by anti-corruption activists in Ghana & overseas. Is the Judiciary in Ghana ready to be part of the fight against corruption, or not? Does it want to be used to shield powerful politicians in the push for accountability, or not?"

See his tweet below:

Being watched very closely by anti-corruption activists in Ghana & overseas. Is the Judiciary in Ghana ready to be part of the fight against corruption, or not? Does it want to be used to shield powerful politicians in the push for accountability, or not?https://t.co/z1xh8IxtqS

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) October 12, 2023