No judge should pay ‘thank you money’ – CJ warns

Addressing judges and magistrates at their 37^th annual general meeting in Accra Wednesday, Ms Akuffo described the practice as “insidious”, indicating it is detrimental to the fight against corruption.

“I know this practice has persisted over a long period, but I believe it is time for us to put a stop to it as judges, as it contributes to the culture of corruption in our institution,” she said.

The chief justice said all categories of judicial service staff are paid by the State to undertake their official duties.

As a result, she said “any ‘thank you’ must not go beyond the verbal, and that should be it!” she told the judges and magistrates.

The chief Justice who is retiring this year from active service, expressed worry over the number of times her office has had to write letters to the IGP for security protection for judges and courts, something she said been a difficult task to meet.

She explained that this was in response a complaint by the president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana, Justice Senyo Dzamefe.

Mr Dzamefe, she said drew her attention to how the lives of magistrates and judges are at risk for non-availability of security at their offices and homes.

The chief Justice said she has also insisted on the inclusion of police post in the prototype court buildings distributed to the various assemblies.

She described district and circuit court buildings in Accra as the worst compared to other parts of the country.

By 3news

POST TAGS

ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

[email protected]

An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

View all posts by: Nana Kwesi Coomson