SEX FOR JUSTICE: COURT CLERK BUSTED IN ANAS VIDEO

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, 25 September 2015

A   raunchy sex scene involving a court clerk and a woman in the Anas Aremeyaw Anas investigative piece captured the wild imagination of patrons who watched the video of their ‘revered’ judges being given cash amounts, sheep, goats, guinea fowl and yam in order to pervert the course of justice at the premiering last Tuesday.

A clerk who asked for the service of a woman as part-payment for introducing the Tiger Eye (A   nas’ company) team to a judge was seen in the video removing his clothes and romping in bed with the woman for a sexual affair.

There were gasps and horrified screams from audience at the Accra International Conference Centre – venue of the screening - as all burst into laughter to end the two-day show of the video that has scandalised the judiciary.

Don’t Tell Your Father

Meanwhile, a judge in the mind-blowing corruption scandal had told undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas not to disclose their meeting to anybody, especially his (Anas’) father.

Justice Ivy Heward Mills of the Cape Coast high court allegedly took GH¢800 as bribe; first through her driver, in a land dispute at the Kasoa Millennium City and later went personally to collect more from Anas and his Tiger Eye team.

Unknown to her, Tiger Eye’s secret cameras were secretly recording all her movements.

Their meeting was held under the Aggrey Memorial SHS overpass on the Accra-Takoradi Highway at Cape Coast where the judge, sitting in the comfort of her official car, was heard in the video telling Anas (who was posing as one of the parties in the case) not to let his father know that she met him and took money from him.

The money was handed to her at the rear seat and she quickly put it in her handbag before she was chauffeured away.

Shocking Scenes

Viewers were gripped with awe and disappointment at how some judges allegedly took bribes in broad daylight to throw away cases or let criminals off the hook in the almost three-hour video. They were offered monies between GH¢100 and GH¢15,000 - some in red cedi notes.

Sarcastic Applause

Perhaps the judge who attracted sarcastic applause from the audience was Justice John Ajet-Nasam of the infamous Woyome GH¢51.2 million fraudulent judgement debt saga. He even remarked at a point, “I don’t take sopi (small) sopi (small) money,” when he allegedly collected the balance of GH¢1,000 from Anas at Zongo Junction, Accra, to free an accused person.

‘Angel’ Gabriel

In almost all the cases, it was some court clerks and a few others who were used as ‘middlemen’ between the judges and the supposed litigants. One person who played an instrumental role in three of the judges’ cases was called Gabriel Achana, who works in the high court in Accra.

The judges’ official residences were mostly the meeting points and some also took the ‘bribes’ by the wayside in their official cars or other joints like shopping malls.

Judge Contractor

One particular judge at Adidome in the Volta Region turned himself into a contractor for a litigant and was directing the litigant to report a particular matter to the police so that the same case would be brought to him for ‘adjudication.’

The judge charged in advance before the case was even reported to the police and eventually brought to him, while his clerk had a soft spot for GH¢20 notes and would not hesitate to demand them, according to the video.

Another judge at a circuit court at Odumase Krobo in the Eastern Region was captured by the Tiger Eye team being persuaded by a defendant to deny interest accrued to the plaintiff in a debt case and also to re-arrange flexible terms of the payment for the defendant, which the judge did.

Mandatory Payment

A court clerk named Cynthia at the Kasoa circuit court acted as if it was mandatory for the supposed litigants to pay bribe before seeing the judge and boasted, “You can only see the judge through me,” like the biblical injunction of seeing the God through Jesus.

She eventually succeeded in taking GH¢20 before taking them to the judge in a land dispute, but the judge apparently did not want to take the bribe in the presence of  Anas and his team and asked them to leave.

They were later captured on video counting the cash.

A judge at the Agona district magistrate court, Paul K. Alhassan, took cash at his official residence in a land dispute case after a clerk had taken the Tiger Eye team to him.

A district court judge at Cape Coast was able to set free a driver who had knocked down a girl and made her almost paralyzed.

Daniel K. Obeng, the circuit court judge at Techiman, took GH¢700 together with a goat to free an accused person. He even drove to pick up the goat given by Anas as a ‘thank you’ gift.

He was recently appointed to the high court and was to commence sitting as a superior court judge after the current legal vacation.

At the Kintampo magistrate court, the judge, Stephen Asure, allegedly took a bribe to free a suspect.

The situation at the Somanya district court appeared sordid. It was a complete network, starting with the clerks through the prosecutors and ending with the judge.

As a result, the judge, investigator and court clerks were all ‘sorted out’ to influence a defilement case. They suggested changing the defiled victim’s age from 13 to 20.

At one point the investigator could not even find the way to his pocket to keep his cash when Anas approached him in his vehicle at the court’s premises and handed the cash to him.

A judge at the Bibiani circuit court, Baptiste K. Forson’s clerk negotiated for him and later took GH¢300 to enable a plaintiff win a land case.

Jacob Amponsah, a magistrate at Ejisu, also took money from the Tiger Eye team on a highway to free an accused person who even jumped bail.

At the Offinso circuit court, a clerk was seen making the sign of the cross after taking bribe from Anas and his team.

A judge at the Somanya district court was seen coughing continuously while negotiating for his money and eventually taking it and hurriedly placing it under court files on his desk to pervert the course of justice.

A catalogue of scenes like these and sordid ones were captured on video by Anas and his team.

The premiering was attended by high profile personalities including the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Father Campbell of Christ The King Catholic Church in Accra and members of the diplomatic corps.