Sankore: Thugs beat up police, seize patrol vehicle for robbery

Seven armed men on Friday evening overpowered a police patrol team at Sankore, in the Brong Ahafo Region, and seized their vehicle.

The thugs, according to the police, later used the seized vehicle to undertake series of robberies at targeted locations, including the residence of the Member of Parliament (MP) of the area.

Four people, including a police officer, are currently receiving treatment for cutlass wounds following the attack.

The Asunafo South MP – whose house was robbed – Eric Opoku is convinced the robbers are members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Police have not confirmed the MP’s claim that the attackers were NPP supporters, but said their men had to abandon their patrol duties and ran for their lives.

“The police vehicle fell into a ditch; they [the distressed patrol team] pulled the driver out of the vehicle and the policemen exited the vehicle and found their way back to the police station to secure their lives,” District Police commander for Sankore, DSP Robert Akwasi Boakye, told Joy News’ Elton John Brobbey.

He said investigations are underway to apprehend the ringleader, one Godfred Amponsah, said to be a beneficiary of the Justice for All Programme.

Alleged ‘NPP thugs’

MP for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku, claims the thugs had first confronted the police at Abuom Junction which leads to Sankore, preventing them from patrolling the community.

“The NPP boys met them and told them they will not allow them to enter the town to do their patrol work. That they [ the thugs] don’t understand why they are patrolling the community,” the MP told Joy News.

However, the joint police-military patrol team had insisted and gone ahead to undertake their legitimate duty.

“They [the attackers] did not agree with them [patrol team]. So they chased them and the police had to run,” the MP said.

No arrests have been made, however, DSP Robert Akwasi Boakye says police chiefs, including the Regional Commander, have visited the town to get first hand information about the attack on the security forces.

Source:myjoyonline.com

Amewu 'exposes' Anglogold Ashanti

The Lands Minister has lashed out at AngloGold Ashanti for shortchanging local companies over contracts to supply the mining firm with equipment and other consumables as plans are underway to redevelop it.

Anglogold Ashanti Tuesday morning put together a forum in Accra to coach local companies on how to be successful in bidding for contract ahead of the exercise.

But the forum it appears was a charade John Peter Amewu alleged.

“I have a feeling that this gathering is a mere propaganda gathering. It is just to send signals to Ghanaians that AngloGold will be doing things differently,” he said, adding but that is not the case.

John Peter Amewu blew said, the ministry is reliably informed, AngloGold has already shortlisted at least two foreign companies to undertake the supplying job and was only organizing the forum for purposes of propaganda.

“Two foreign contractors have already been shortlisted and the ministry got this information 11:00 pm yesterday. This government is not against foreign companies but all foreign companies working in this country must take note that the resources belong to Ghanaians. You don’t go to South Africa and bring the black boys there. You don’t go to Australia and send the black boys there.

“We want to entertain the white boys to work with us but there must be equity,” he said.

AngloGold Ashanti officials are yet to officially comment on the matter.

Source:myjoyonline.com

Mahama bemoans fake facebook accounts in his name

Former President John Mahama has warned Ghanaians and his social media followers to be wary of fake social media handles in his name.

Mahama who appears concerned over the development warned via his verified twitter handle @JDMahama that “There are many pages on Facebook using my name or a combination of my official name,” he noted.

He concluded: “ I wish to make it known, once more, that this is my only Facebook Account (@JDMahama) and my twitter handle is @JDMahama. Any other account is unauthorized & unknown to me or my Office. Thanks”.

Mr. Mahama who spent his Easter festivities helping Sierra Leone with their elections extended warm wishes to the Light House Chapel in Accra which appears to have extended invitation to him to attend their service.

“I wish the Lighthouse Family a great Good Friday Miracle Service with @EvangelistDag. Will be missing today’s service because of an elections assignment in Sierra Leone tmrrw. Recall fondly the power of the preaching & the fellowship when I joined you in 2016”.

Source:myjoyonline.com

Ebony Reigns laid to rest

'Sponsor', 'Maame Hwe', 'Kupe' among the many other hits that got even those who never thought they will dance to Afropop music on their feet, has today brought tears into the eyes of scores of fans as the ‘90s Bad Girl’ is laid to rest today.

Ebony Reigns as she is popularly known in showbiz perished in a gory car accident in the night of February 8 at Nyamebekyere in the Ahafo Ano South District in the Ashanti Region.

Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng as she is known in personal life was returning from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, where she went to visit her mother. She met her untimely death when the Jeep she was riding in collided with a VIP bus coming from the opposite direction.

The dancehall artiste died with two others, her friend Franky and a military man identified as Lance Corporal Francis Atsu Vondee.

Ebony’s father confirmed to JoyNews on the morning of her death that the ‘Maame Hwe’ hit singer was scheduled to go on a tour of Europe to promote her music.

“…I have her visa, it is still with me in the room”, he told JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba. She died a week shy of her 21st birthday.

The body of the late musician was laid to rest at the Osu Cemetary after a funeral service at the Forecourt of the State House in Accra.

Some of the known personalities at the funeral included Catherine Afeku, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture; Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour), President of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA); Dr Lawrence Tetteh of UK-based World Miracle Outreach, Wanlov, Countryman Songo and Rev Thomas Yawson.

Sammy Awuku of the Youth Employment Agency, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Nicholas Omane Acheampong and Rex Omar are also at the funeral.

NDC makes formal case on voters' register to EC

The governing National Democratic Congress in Ghana has made a formal proposal to the Electoral Commission against a new voters’ register for the 2016 general elections.

The party in a 71-page document urged the interest groups to rather support the EC to carry out more reforms that will further improve election management in the country.

The NDC document signed by the General Secretary and the National Chairman described the call by the NPP as one borne out of bad faith, bad-loser syndrome, and a deliberate and calculated strategy for political expediency.

“The NPP habitually condemns the Electoral Commission anytime they lose elections and commend the same institution when they win. This characteristically undemocratic approach of refusing to concede defeat at the polls, has become an institutionalized practice by the NPP to manage electoral defeat and ascribe their failure to the doing of others.”

It further stated: “… our political opponents the NPP, are in the habit of demonstrating breach of faith when they step out of collective agreements to table extraneous agenda items and try hard to force the hand of the EC to adopt their lone ranger demands. “The current debate around the replacement or maintenance of the Biometric Voters’ Register is evidence of the break-away decision-making habit of NPP. After having participated in and endorsed the collective Report of the Elections Reform Committee set up by the EC to review electoral reform issues emerging from the post 2012 events, the NPP has single handedly raised the issue of the replacement of the BVR outside the consensus reached on the roadmap of electoral reforms and is seeking in the process to railroad all other stakeholders to accede to their false demands.”

Meanwhile, aside the NPP some political parties including the United Progressive Party in their proposal to the Electoral Commission said they want a new voters’ register.

General Secretary of the party, Razak Opoku told Joy News the current register lacks credibility. Former Chairman of the NPP Peter Mac Manu, who is leading his side on the need for a new register, told Joy News the party has added additional documentation to buttress their call for a new register. He said their demand has nothing to do with winning or losing the forthcoming elections. It is about “credibility and accuracy of the voters' register,” he noted.

“Because the entire process anchor on the register if the foundation becomes mouldy then the structure can’t pass the test,” he explained. Mr. Mac Manu cautioned that “time is not on our side, they must act and act expeditiously”.

Meanwhile, the Principal Public Relations Officer of the EC, Sylvia Annor has told Joy News about plans by the EC to address the concerns of the parties.

She said the Commissioner would hold a stakeholders' forum with the parties to deliberate on the issue for the EC to take final decision, but would not tell how soon the meeting would be held.

Source:Adomonline.com

Anas video: 10 things I learnt about Ghana’s judiciary

And so it came to pass, Anas Aremeyaw Anas publicly screened his latest expose on judicial corruption on Tuesday. Despite threats of court injunctions, hundreds of Ghanaians turned up at the Conference centre to watch the documentary on judicial corruption. It was painful to sit and watch all three hours of it. And it’s not because it was long or the air conditions in the auditorium were not working. The behavior of the judges and court officials caught on camera was sickening. The way clerks, interpreters and judges met and negotiated bribes made me physically sick. I have seen many documentaries by Anas, none was as nauseating as this one. Some of the judges took as little as 500 cedis to throw cases. The documentary raises so many questions. Here are my takeaways from the documentary.

Ghana’s judiciary is in tatters

Prior to this, a number of surveys had revealed that the judiciary was perceived as corrupt. Forget what you were told when the reports from the Afrobaromter and the Ghana Integrity Initiative were published – the corruption within the judiciary is real. Our judiciary, the third arm of government is beyond the broken. That people appointed to uphold the law and the rights of citizens violate it without consequence. None of the over 30 judges and 100 court officials had to be coerced. Anas and his Tigereye just had to find a facilitator and that was it. Murderers, armed robbers, rapists and other criminals were freed for as little GHC500 in some cases. The system works in favor of the highest bidder.

Supervision is poor

I’m not buying the entrapment argument. I don’t believe the judges and court officials took their first bribes from Anas. It did not look like it was their first time on camera either. That means they’ve have been retailing injustice for however long they have been on the bench. That none of the 34 judges came to the attention of their bosses is unbelievable. Is it that no one reported them? Even if the corruption of the judges was hard to spot, how about the court officials implicated in the scandal? How come no one in the system blew the whistle? What about the suspicious rulings? Because to be honest, some of the judgements stunk! Is it that no one was reviewing the judgments of the judges? No one noticed the noxious trend? (*Shudders*) Like many other systems in our country, the judiciary seems to be on auto pilot. There are no supervisors. Some of the supervisors are also too corrupt to point fingers. Some of the bribes were taken under the nose of the Chief Justice, the Bar, the General legal Council and the Judicial Council. Has the judicial process ever been reviewed besides increasing filing fees?

Judges have no sense of propriety

Seriously, I can’t even count the number of potbellied men who received the team half-dressed at their homes. Nearly everyone was in boxers or bare chested when the team called with goats, yams and cash. That is not the worst part, isn’t there some sort of law that requires judges to meet parties involved in the case with their lawyers present? Are they not supposed to uphold the rights of all citizens? Their residential addresses are sealed to prevent people involved in cases going to their homes to influence them. Even in their chambers, lawyers must be present when they meet litigating parties. But most of the judges just allowed people they don’t know to walk in with the goats and yams.

Injustice is cheap

All it took for one court clerk to grant Anas’s people access to a judge was GHC40. The judge himself took GHC800 to free a man who defiled a 13-year-old. There was talk about the victim or even conditions for the accused when released. Six armed robbers, one of whom had confessed to the robbery were freed for as low as 2,500 cedis.

Judges and officials will go any distance for bribes

The recklessness displayed by some of the judges in the documentary is shocking. One met the group at the mall for the rest of the money agreed on. He drove himself after allowing them to come to his house with a goat and cash. Another met in a carpentry shop. Some of the court officials took their bribes right under the sign at the court premises that says; “justice is not for sale.” What my untrained mind knows is that judges must always meet all parties with their lawyers, but none of the judges exercised caution.

The corruption chain is entrenched and pervasive

It is an interesting web of people willing to break the laws they’re supposed to uphold at the right price. In this chain, there are drivers of judges, court clerks, police, prosecutors, court registrars, interpreters and the judges who are the last to be seen. The Tigereye team just had to find the right person for right judge and the deed was done. Justice Ajet Nassam’s clerk, King George, Dzata and the Major guy seem to be well-established players who know which palm to grease and where. From Bolgatanga through Juaben to Accra, there was always a well-connected court official who worked as a fixer for the judges and users of the court – the reason no one blew the whistle on any of the people caught in this scandal.

Court systems are archaic

It’s no justification, but why are people using paper for every procedure in the court? Some of the courtrooms, buildings and the living quarters of the judges could compare to a shack in a slum. Why won’t people working in these horrible, unsafe and often dilapidated spaces be corrupt? The neglect is a sign government doesn’t care about justice delivery.

There are honest judges

What is reassuring is that, out of rotten lot, there were some judges that threatened Anas’s people with arrest for coming to their homes. Others outrightly declined his gifts. But I wonder why they did not alert the authorities about these attempts. Looks like offers are made daily and people know which judges to see on the side.

Judges are powerful

Everything rests with the judge – the rights of both the accused and victims, plaintiffs and defendants. Of course, they are supposed to be guided by the evidence, rules and regulation and the law. But again, i’m wondering if it isn’t time to review this system. The Anas' documentary shows the rights of citizens are abused depending on which side has more.

Finally….

Although it looks really bad, this might be our best chance to radically reform the judicial service. This opportunity cannot be wasted because further drop in the public’s trust in the system.

Source:citifmonline.com

Anas is the most lawless person in the world-Ndebugri

Counsel for some of the judges implicated in the judicial scandal has described investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas as one of the most lawless people in the world.

A livid John Ndebugri believes that it is a blatant abuse of the law for the ace investigative journalist to premiere the much anticipated video on judicial corruption despite an application injuncting the showing of the video .

Tiger Eye PI, the investigative company headed by Anas, broadcast the documentary on judicial corruption at the Accra International Conference Centre on Tuesday.

Thousand of Ghanaians trooped to the venue to view firsthand the explosive content of the documentary which shows judges allegedly collecting bribes to subvert justice.

But John Ndebugri on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Wednesday said the premiering of the documentary is an act of “lawlessness and impunity”. He could not fathom why people are hailing the investigative journalist and acting as if “only this 30- year- old Anas who will come to salvage this country”.

The legal practitioner added that those who “ignorantly” trooped to the Conference Centre just to satisfy their curiosity are all in contempt and could be jailed for flouting the law.

John Ndebugri believes “we are in very abnormal times” because the constitution and the law since Anas’ exposé is being turned upside down.