The National Patriots against Injustice and Corruption Ghana (NAPAIC-Ghana) has commended the presiding judge of High Court 2 in Bolgatanga, Justice Alexander Graham, for exposing an underhand attempt by the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, to allegedly influence his decisions on some mining-related cases filed from the Talensi District.
According to the group, the acting Upper East Regional Supervising High Court Judge, His Lordship Alexander Graham, has demonstrated that the laws of Ghana are supreme. It explained that this is so because at about 9:00 am on Friday, March 10, 2023, a serious piece of drama unfolded in the judge’s courtroom, High Court 2, where the Chief of Baare, Naab Nyakora Mantii, and Richard Sunday Yinbil, the Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, were arrested after they had met with the judge, His Lordship Alexander Graham, in his chambers, apparently to influence the judge who is currently presiding over a mining-related suit.
NAPAIC-Ghana stated that the judge walked them out and ordered the court warrant officers to arrest and handcuff them immediately. It noted that the individuals were arrested and handcuffed, and the judge subsequently instructed the Chief of Baare and the Secretary to the Tongraan to tell the open court what they had told him privately in chambers.
Subsequently, the group noted that shamefully, the Chief of Baare and the Secretary to the Tongraan became “dumb and were shivering seriously” and for three minutes, they could not utter a word before the court audience. As a result, the judge stated: “If you cannot tell the court, I will tell them”.
The anti-corruption group stated that His Lordship furiously started by saying that he had issued several warnings in his courtroom against people who might want to circumvent justice by visiting judges in their homes and in their chambers and that this act was common in the Upper East Region.
“We at NAPAIC-Ghana see the development recorded within the Judicial Service of Ghana as one of the best actions led by a judge in the Upper East Region and we humbly would ask of him to do more. We also would love to suggest to the Chief Justice of Ghana to identify good judges like His Lordship Alexander Graham and award them enormously to serve as motivation for others to emulate and to make the vulnerable also receive deserved justice when the need arises.”
National Patriots against Injustice and Corruption Ghana
Expounding on the event, NAPIAC-Ghana opined that the judge noted that the Chief of Baare, Naab Nyakora Mantii, and the Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Richard Sunday Yinbil, came to him in his chambers and told him that they had been sent by the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, to invite the judge to his palace to discuss some mining-related cases which the judge was presiding over and for the judge to understand the cases before him.
These persons, NAPAIC-Ghana explained, equally told the judge that the Tongraan was an accountant, a member of the Council of State, former board chairman of the Tema Oil Refinery, etc., to which His Lordship considered their act as a trap and contemptuous.
“The two (the Chief of Baare Naab Nyakora Mantii, and the Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Richard Sunday Yinbil) were promptly charged with contempt of court. They pleaded guilty to the charge and were convicted on their own plea. Even before their conviction, the judge had asked that the two accused persons produce the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, in court…”
National Patriots against Injustice and Corruption Ghana
Accused persons express regret over actions
Following the development, the anti-corruption group explained that the whole bench of lawyers numbering about twelve, who were in the courtroom on different cases from Sunyani, Tamale and Bolgatanga, pleaded profusely on behalf of the two accused persons and especially on behalf of the Tongraan. One Lawyer, Mohammed from Gbewa Chambers in Tamale, allegedly stated that Tongraan is remorseful over his action and had asked him to intervene by pleading with the court to not give a custodial sentence to the two accused persons.
“Lawyer Jalaldeen of CHRAJ and Lawyer Issahaku Lawal of Legal Aid pleaded for a non-custodial sentence. Lawyer Mohammed Nambe, who is currently the lawyer for the Tongraan, also told the judge that it was even enough punishment by rebuking the accused persons in the open court and that they were first offenders and would not repeat the act.”
National Patriots against Injustice and Corruption Ghana
Moreover, NAPIAC-Ghana highlighted that Justice Alexander Graham is, indeed, deserving of the noble title “His Lordship”. It further noted that despite the plea, the judge convicted the accused persons and asked them to sign a bond of six months and to be of good behaviour.
“He also directed that the bond should be signed before the Upper East Regional Police Command. The two accused persons were held in court custody from around 9.00 am to 3:18 pm before they were sent by police to the Upper East Regional Police Command.”
National Patriots against Injustice and Corruption Ghana
The anti-corruption group stated that it is aware of the modus operandi of the Tongraan in trying to twist the arms of the law by using his positions and his agents like the accused persons who were exposed today. The action of the Tongraan, it indicated, has become one too many and that it is a big dent on the Talensi paramount skin.
To this end, the group urged the Tongraan to refrain from such fishy dealings to avoid further embarrassment.
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