Court to Decide on Sipa Yankey

Saturday, April 24, 2010

By Stephen Kwabena Effah

THE Human Rights Court in Accra, will on May 20, rule CHRAJ should resume its investigation into the alleged Mabey and Johnson bribery scandal to exclusively hear the former Health Minister Dr. George Sipa Yankey.

The court, presided over by Justice U.P. Dery, fixed the date yesterday after counsel for both parties made their submissions on their respective stands.

Dr. Yankey on April 8, filed an application for mandamus to compel CHRAJ to give him an expeditious hearing in its investigations into the scandal in view of the indefinite suspension of investigations into the matter.

CHRAJ had earlier in a statement issued on April 1, announced that it had suspended hearing into the scandal in view of an order of prohibition pending at the High Court against it.

But in court yesterday, its counsel, Thaddeus Sory said that although CHRAJ was opposed to the application by Dr.Yankey, it was prepared to hear him if the Human Rights Court gave the green-light.

Opposing the application, he said “it is not by might” that investigation into the scandal was suspended, by but that, CHRAJ could not risk to hear Dr. Yankey, irrespective of the fact that he was not part of those seeking an order of prohibition against it.

According to him, the application for an order of prohibition did not state that it was in respect of those who filed it, rather, it was couched to cover the entire investigations into the alleged scandal.

“We are not opposed to investigating him (Dr.Yankey),” Mr. Sory pointed out, adding that “it is the prevailing circumstance that has led us to suspend investigations into the scandal”.

Touching on Dr. Sipa-Yankey’s claim that CHRAJ’s decision constituted a violation of his rights under the Constitution, Mr. Sory argued that CHRAJ had not in anyway violated the ex-Minister’s fundamental human rights.

He contended that the basis upon which CHRAJ suspended its investigation into the alleged scandal could not be considered to be causing unreasonable delay, adding that Dr. Yankey had not been able to establish a right under Article 19 (13) to warrant an application for mandamus.

Mr. Kwame Gyan, counsel for Dr.Yankey, earlier argued that CHRAJ’s action constituted a “blatant and flagrant violation” of his client’s constitutional rights and freedoms as contained in the country’s constitution.

According to him, the order of prohibition being sought by other respondents in the scandal would not have any ramification on his client’s case because there was no situation of joint charges, if any, in the scandal.

He told the court that each of the respondents in the scandal were standing in their personal capacity and “there is no joint or several liability. Let’s de-couple his matter from the rest involved and treat each on its own merit”.

Mr. Gyan contended that the failure and/or refusal of CHRAJ to give Dr. Yankey an expeditious hearing was causing him “grave pain and anguish, hardship and suffering” as there was no clear indication as to when the public hearing would resume.

He said Dr.Yankey had to resign his post in October 2009 to devote time and energy to clear his name when CHRAJ commenced its investigations into the scandal.

Dr. Yankey is seeking an order of certiorari to quash CHRAJ’s indefinite suspension of its hearing into the scandal with regards to himself, as well as an order of mandamus to compel it to grant him an expeditious hearing in the scandal.

It is recalled that CHRAJ on March 15, began a public hearing into allegations of corruption against Baba Kamara, an agent of M&J, a British engineering firm; Brigadier-General Lord Attivor, a PNDC Secretary for Roads and Highways; Dr. Atto Quarshie, a former NDC Minister, and Alhaji Seidu, a former Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways.

The rest are Mr. Kwame Peprah, a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; Dr. George Sipa Yankey, former Head of the Legal and Private Sector Unit, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and Alhaji Abubakar Sadique Boniface, a former Minister of Works and Housing in the previous administration.

CHRAJ empanelled Justice Emile Short as chairman, with Ms. Anna Bossman, Deputy Commissioner (Legal and Investigations) and Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner (Public Education and Anti-corruption), as members.

The public hearing was to enable CHRAJ, after preliminary investigations, to produce evidence in support of its case, call witnesses in support of that evidence, afford the respondents the opportunity to state their cases and produce witnesses after which a decision would have been reached.

However, at its first hearing on March 15, Mr Samuel Cudjoe counsel for Baba Kamara, Samuel Cudjoe, raised objection that CHRAJ had no mandate to investigate his client because at the time of the alleged corruption, he was not a public official.

CHRAJ consequently adjourned to March 29 to rule on whether it had the mandate to investigate Baba Kamara or not, but before Mr Justice Short could give the ruling, Mr. Cudjoe asked CHRAJ to “stay put” on its intended ruling, contending that it would undermine the determination of an application for an order of prohibition pending at the High Court against the Commission.

The intervention forced CHRAJ to defer its ruling and adjourn sitting to April 7, to rule on Mr. Cudjoe’s submission. But on April 1, it issued a statement that it had indefinitely suspended investigations into the case due to the application for judicial review.