A high Court judge, Justice Paul Uuter Dery, who has been implicated in a bribery and corruption expose by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has filed a suit at a High Court, citing the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and four journalists for contempt of Court.
The four others cited in the suit are the investigative journalist, Anas, acting editor and deputy editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Samuel Frimpong and Ernest Addo respectively; and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Starr FM, Nathan Kwabena Anokye Adisi.
The suit follows a two-year investigative story by Anas in which 34 judges and over 100 judicial service staff are captured on video receiving bribes to compromise cases before them. The investigative journalist has put together a 3-hour video showing a detailed account of the story including visuals showing the judges and judicial staffers receiving bribes.
The MFWA is partnering with the journalist to screen the said video at the public event and had publicly advertised the screening event scheduled for September 22 and 23.
In his suit, the Justice Derry indicates that he had filed a suit at a High Court seeking to place an injunction on the scheduled public airing of the video showing him and several other judges allegedly taking bribe to compromise cases before them.
In the contempt suit against the MFWA and the journalists, the judge avers that while his suit for injunction was pending, the defendants have been using different media platforms to release portions of the video of him (Justice Dery) allegedly taking bribe.
He argues that the alleged action of the defendants is in contempt of his original suit seeking injunction on the release of the video. He further argues that the said action by the defendants amounts to disrespecting the Court before which his injunction suit had been filed.
The judge is, therefore, asking the High Court to jail the Executive Director of the MFWA, the investigative journalist and his two editors, and the CEO of Starr FM for the contempt
The motion on notice for committal for contempt against the respondents was filed on Friday, September 18.