M&J Prosecutor Made A Reckless Statement of Falsehood - Ablakwa

A Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, has said that the Chief Prosecutor in the much publicized Mabey and Johnson bribery saga in the United Kingdom, John Hardy, had made statements which could be prejudicial to the ongoing investigations by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). According to him, when matters are under investigations, all responsible citizens do well to stay away from the matter and not to make statements that could be prejudicial to the ongoing process. He said the much respected British Lawyer should have known better, rather than coming into the country to throw all these basic principles out of the window by making such a statement. John Hardy emphatically stated that bribery of foreign public officials was a political disease; a social and cultural disease, as well as an economic disease. This was during a public lecture at the Law faculty of the University of Ghana, Legon, organized by the Danquah Institute just about a week ago. Speaking in an interview on Radio Gold, (an Accra based radio station), he remarked that the acclaimed British lawyer knew that CHRAJ was conducting investigations into the matter and yet decided to take that path. �When you know this, you don�t go about making such reckless statements which are a clear falsehood. You don�t even give any facts as to what pertains in the transaction you are talking about�, he said. He contended that such a situation would not be accepted, as that will certainly not be helpful to citizens who are involved in this matter. �What we are interested in as a government, is the truth�, he stated. Meanwhile, CHRAJ is to commence a public hearing on the Mabey and Johnson bribery saga. However Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insists that if there are any questions that ought to be answered, the various institutions that are charged with the responsibility will carry out their responsibility in an unimpeded and unhindered manner. CHRAJ has decided to institute an open inquiry into the Mabey and Johnson (M&J) scandal.