The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Communication Committee, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini has cast serious doubts about the ability of the police to conduct meaningful investigations into the alleged bribery case that compelled Minister of State at the Office of the President, Rockson Bukari, to resign.
Rockson Bukari resigned following a leaked audio tape in which he is heard allegedly trying to suppress the publication of a damning story against a mining firm and a judge in the Upper East Region.
[contextly_sidebar id=”phXU4FGGvX8zKH4NUsPlElrwB14UkrWC”]Despite his resignation, many have said there should be further action taken against him to serve as a deterrent to others.
Speaking to Citi News, the Sagnarigu MP said a resignation from Mr Bukari is not enough.
“Whether he was pushed or he jumped, at this point is immaterial. The most important thing is whether the resignation is enough and I say a big no to it. If someone has committed a crime, we just leave him of his public office and ask him to go home, pack his bag and ask him to sin no more. There are acts that infringe the laws of this country. Are bribery and corruption not infringement of our criminal code? People are languishing in jail for even minor offences. This is a minister of state, he must be made to face the full rigors of the law.”
“The issue is what needs to done especially coming from a President who has always been claiming that he is an anti-corruption crusader and ever since he assumed power, not an aorta of commitment has he ever demonstrated. Do we even believe that even the Police can do anything about this matter? Even the IGP can’t touch on this matter because he is afraid to lose his job”, he added.
Minister of State Rockson Bukari resigns over leaked audio tape
Mr. Bukari in the leaked tape allegedly attempted to bribe a Starr FM journalist to kill a story against a judge and a Chinese mining firm when he was the Upper East Regional Minister.
He later denied the bribery allegation in a statement insisting he was only intervening.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Minister’s approach by way of pleading with the journalist is typical with his peace-making intervention approach to situations, and in this case, sought to avoid what he was informed was a misjudgment sought to be projected to hurt the reputation of a retiring judge in the region he had superintended as minister,” a statement from Rockson’s office said.