Chief Justice sets up committee to investigate CHRAJ boss

A five-member committee is set to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of office against Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Lauretta Lampety.

Reports indicate the committee is made up of Mr Justice A. A. Benin, a Supreme Court judge; Ms Justice Mariama Owusu, a Court of Appeal judge; Mr Edwin P.D. Barnes, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, and Brigadier- General Fuseini Iddrisu.

Ms Lamptey may soon be invited by the committee to answer questions on allegations of financial malfeasance as well as other complaints against her office.

Chief Justice Georgina Wood last year established a prima facie case against the CHRAJ boss after studying a number of petitions forwarded to her by President John Mahama.

One of such petitioners is the leader a pressure group Progressive Nationalist Forum, Richard Nyamah, who after receiving the CJ’s 24-paged decision, described it as “gratifying”.

Ms Lauretta Lamptey paid close to $5,000 monthly rent on her plush AU Village apartment for 33 months while over GHS180,000 was being spent to renovate her official bungalow.

Media reports of the expenditure attracted public opprobrium for the human rights and administrative justice Commissioner.

With the position of the CHRAJ Commissioner being equal to a Court of Appeal Judge, the procedures for Ms Lamptey’s removal from office, would start with credible evidence of corruption and abuse of office by the Chief Justice’s investigations.

Article 146 (3) of the constitution states that “If the President receives a petition for the removal of Justice of a Superior Court other than the Chief Justice or for the removal of the Chairman of a Regional Tribunal, he shall refer the petition to the Chief Justice, who shall determine whether there is a prima facie case.”

–