[JURIST] The Judicial Council of Ghana [official website] on Monday announced the suspension of seven high court judges following corruption allegations by an investigative journalist. The decision was based on video footage collected in a nationwide investigation conducted by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the leading journalist on uncovering corruption in the judiciary, which showed more than 180 judges and judicial staff accepting bribes to deliver false rulings or provide confidential information. The Judicial Council’s official statement says that the judges will have to answer a prima facie case [BBC report] of stated “misbehavior,” established by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood. They are the most senior judges to be suspended thus far as a result of the corruption scandal.

Ghana has been the source of internal corrupt practices issues in the past. In September the Judicial Council of Ghana announced [JURIST report] the suspension of 22 judges and magistrates on suspicion of corruption. These charges were based on the same video footage collected by Anas that was at issue here. In November of last year, UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez expressed concern [JURIST report] over the conditions in Ghana prisons and concluded that the state of prisons in the country amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In August of last year, the Supreme Court of Ghana upheld [JURIST report] the disputed election of President John Mahama. The election results were challenged on allegations of fraud by the opposing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, who finished second in the election with 47.74 percent of the electoral vote.