Rich people in Ghana likely to evade court by paying bribes – report
More than eight in every 10 Ghanaians, representing 83 per cent, believe that rich people in the country are likely to pay bribes or use their personal connections to evade being sent to court to face prosecution, the latest afrobarometer report has revealed.
According to the report on the survey conducted between September 9 and 25, 2017, though Ghanaians support the rule of law, “there is widespread and growing belief that laws are not applied in an equitable manner”.
The report released on March 19 showed two-thirds of Ghanaians representing 67 per cent say officials who commit crimes “often” or “always” go unpunished.
“Only about one-quarter (24%) think ordinary people get away with crimes,” it added.
The perception of inequitable application of the law is confirmed by the fact that six in every 10 Ghanaians, constituting 62 per cent held that people are “often” or “always” treated unequally under the laws of the land.
It added: “Only about one-third (35%) think this “rarely” or “never” happens”.
Between 2008 and 2017, the proportion of respondents who say that officials “often” or “always” escape punishment for crimes rose by 39 percentage points.
Similarly, the perception that people are treated unequally under the law grew by 29 percentage points.
The proportion of citizens who say that ordinary people often/always go unpunished for crimes has not varied substantially over the past decade, the report added.
Click here to read the summary of the report which was authored by Mawusi Yaw Dumenu and Daniel Armah-Attoh
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