By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
December 20, 2017
Chief Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo has officially confirmed that she
has set up a committee to investigate allegations brought against the Chairperson
of the Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei and her two deputies - Amadu
Sulley, in-charge of
Operations and Mrs. Georgina Opoku-Amankwa, in-charge of Corporate Service.
A statement issued in Accra yesterday and signed by Justice Alex B.
Poku-Acheampong, Judicial Secretary, indicated that the proceedings of the
five-member committee, to be chaired by a Supreme Court judge, would be in camera.
“The public is hereby informed that Her Ladyship the Chief Justice,
Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo, in accordance with Article 46 of the 1992 Constitution,
has set up a five-member committee to investigate allegations brought against
the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei and her two
deputies, Mr. Amadu Sulley and Mrs. Georgina Opoku-Amankwa,” the statement pointed
out.
“The committee, which will sit in camera in line with normal
practice, consists of three justices of the Superior Court appointed by the
Judicial Council and two other persons appointed by the Chief Justice, on the
advice of the Council of State. The committee is chaired by a justice of the
Supreme Court.”
According to the statement, “The committee was established after the
Chief Justice had determined that there was a prima facie case against the
three officials of the Electoral Commission.”
The statement cautioned, “It is the expectation of the Chief Justice
and the Judicial Council that the public will treat the committee with respect
and dignity it deserves as it carries out its constitutional duty and refrain
from making any comments that will undermine the work of the committee, since
infractions may amount to contempt.”
DAILY
GUIDE has learnt that the probe
committee is chaired by Justice Alfred
Anthony Benin of the Supreme Court, with Justices SK Marfo-Sau and Agnes
Dodzie - both of the Court of Appeal - Abrah Appiah and Rose Karikari-Annan, Executive
Secretary, Ghana Employers’ Association, being members.
On Monday, October 11, the committee had its maiden meeting where
both the petitioners and the respondents had a face-to-face encounter.
The embattled EC boss, Charlotte Osei, had asked for the names of
the committee members, but was not given.
The EC workers, who petitioned President Akufo-Addo were represented
by two of them and led by their lawyer, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, with the rest
waiting in the wings for the showdown.
The allegations leveled against the EC bosses have been consolidated
into six, particularly on issues relating to procurement.
Charlotte was accompanied by Thaddeus Sory, who is the commission’s
solicitor and also acting for the EC boss.
Sources claimed all along, the EC boss thought that her accusers
were some faceless people, but appeared to have been taken aback a bit when she
finally met the faces behind the first petition, who are all said to be staff
of the commission.
Counter Petitioner
Emmanuel Senyo, a non-EC staff who had filed a counter petition to
the president against the two deputy commissioners, also met both Amadu Sulley
and Georgina Opoku-Amankwa at the committee meeting.
He is said to have requested for two weeks to tidy up on his
petition.
The committee, DAILY GUIDE gathered, had given all
the parties three weeks to file their respective witness statements.
The paper understands
that Mr Senyo relates James Kofi Afedo, the communication consultant working
with the EC.
Mr Kofi Afedo, a known member of Movement for Mahama, a partisan
group aligned to the NDC, was hired by Charlotte Osei and purportedly paid
thousands of dollars.
Committee’s
Mandate
The committee reportedly used the maiden meeting to explain the
procedures, as well as the terms of reference to the petitioners and the
respondents, with their lawyers participating actively.
A source said that the committee is most likely to commence its work
in January next year; and all members serving on it were present.
DAILY GUIDE has learnt
that since the problems at the EC escalated, the commission had not been able
to meet, with decisions that need attention being singlehandedly addressed by Mrs
Charlotte Osei.
Article 146
The probe is being undertaken pursuant to Article 146 of the 1992
Constitution, after petitions and counter petitions had been sent to the president
against the three top officials of the electoral body.
The committee was set up because there are sufficient grounds (prima facie) for impeachment of the
officers who have been at loggerheads, jeopardizing the operations at the
commission.
Prima
Facie Case
The impeachment committee was established because the Chief Justice,
in a preliminary investigation, reportedly established a prima facie case against the three EC bosses following separate
petitions filed against them.
According
to a source, several alleged infractions in the award of contracts at the EC would
feature prominently in the committee’s investigations.
The preliminary investigations into the alleged scandal commenced
last August when the Chief Justice wrote officially to the commissioners to
file their responses to the allegation leveled against them in the respective
petitions.
With the committee now in place, the respondents, who have not been
working together, may now be asked to proceed on leave, pending the outcome of
the probe.
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