Lawyer for one of the implicated High Court judges in the judiciary bribery scandal, Captain Nkrabea Effah Darteh has revealed that he will only cross examine investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas after he is unveiled.
He argues that cross examining a witness in this instance Anas, and his team in a ‘hidden’ identity, is likely to compromise the authenticity of the exercise hence his call.
Lead lawyer for the 22 implicated lower court magistrates, Charles Ndebugri had earlier made similar calls.
However the committee subsequently overruled that objection when the Tiger Eye Pi team appeared before them during interrogations.
Mr. Nkrabea Darteh on Eyewitness News however said his counsel will ensure that the journalist unveils himself before they continue with the cross examination.
“I do hope that when we appear before the disciplinary committee and the Tiger eye Pi team are also invited, they will not come in a veil because if they do, we will object to that,” he said.
Lawyer Effah Dartey also indicated that his client will be heading to the Supreme Court to seek further interpretation if they are met with a similar reason for annulling the objection raised by lawyers of the lower court judges for Anas to appear before the committee unveiled.
Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Woode on Tuesday set up a four member committee to investigate the 7 High court judges who were suspended by President Mahama following a prima facie case which was established against them by the Chief Justice.
Immunity for Anas by AG
The Attorney General’s department has granted immunity to Anas protecting him from any form of civil court action.
The Lawyer for Justice Ayisi Addo who is confident of a positive outcome of the investigations, however stated that the next of line of action will be determined by his client and that will ‘clear’ the immunity currently being enjoyed by Anas.
Public outcry on sanctioning judges
There have been numerous calls from various sections of the public suggesting that the implicated judges are ‘duly punished’ if they are found guilty of the allegations leveled against them.
Commenting on this development however, Lawyer Effah Darteh said he expects the committee members to act in the best interest of justice and not allow themselves to be persuaded by the pressure from the public.
He however questioned the basis on which the Tiger Eye Pi team had gone ahead to screen the video documentary despite ongoing investigations to establish the truth.
