Attempt to influence judge: Chief, another convicted for contempt, sign bond

Two persons; a chief and the secretary to the Paramount Chief of Talensi were on Friday convicted for contempt of court by the High Court at Bolgatanga for attempting to influence the Supervising judge, Justice Alexander Graham.

Naab Nyakora Mantii and Richard Sunday Yinbil who are influential in the town, are said to have gone to the office of the judge seeking to influence him on some mining cases before the court.

However, the judge who was not happy about the event is said to have handed them over to the court warrant officers for arrest and later convicted them of contempt to sign a bond at the Upper East Regional Police Command.

On Friday, March 10, the two persons are reported to have sought permission from the court Registrar to see the judge in his chambers which they were granted.

Upon getting to the judge’s office they told him that they had been sent by the Paramount Chief of Talensi to invite him(The Supervising Judge) to the palace for the chief to explain to him several mining cases pending before the court.

The judge, however, felt this was an attempt to entrap him to give judgment in a certain direction since he also had a number of cases he is handling.

He immediately walked out of the office and ordered the arrest of the two men and hauled them before the open court to tell all present what transpired between them in chambers.

After Justice Graham had to the court what the two men had come to his office to do, the lawyers in court began to plead for clemency for these men knowing what could be the consequence of their action.

They pleaded with the court not to issue to them a custodial sentence.

As such the judge in his ruling thus convicted the two men of contempt and directed them to sign a six-month bond to be of good behavior.