Revered Supreme Court (SC) Judge, Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi has acknowledged that corruption exists within Ghana’s judiciary, confirming long-held public perceptions that some judges and judicial officers engage in corrupt practices.
According to him, it would be dishonest to deny the existence of corruption within the justice delivery system because the judiciary is a reflection of the wider Ghanaian society.
“I’m not one of those who will say that there are no corrupt judges or there are no corrupt judicial officers. Then they must have come from some other planet, and they are not Ghanaians,” he said.
“So the judges are just a cross-section of Ghanaians. And so to the extent that our society has corrupt people, some of them have filtered into the judiciary.”
Justice Kulendi, however, placed equal responsibility on members of the public, urging Ghanaians to stop offering bribes to judges if the country is serious about eliminating corruption from the justice system.
He argued that judges do not initiate bribery, stressing that litigants and other individuals who seek to influence judicial decisions through illegal payments are equally culpable.
“I say to people, listen, judges don’t give themselves bribes. It is litigants and Ghanaians who will offer the judge their bribe, even for the judge to contemplate it. So stop bribing your judges because the judge is not supposed to sell justice to you,” he said.
The Supreme Court judge acknowledged that while some judicial officers have engaged in corrupt conduct, such cases should not define the entire judiciary, noting that many judges and court officials continue to discharge their duties with integrity and professionalism.
He further explained that the nature of judicial work makes the institution attractive to individuals with corrupt tendencies because of the immense authority judges wield in resolving disputes.
“The judiciary presents a very predatory and opportunistic avenue for somebody who is already disposed to corruption to manifest that outrageous disposition fully. So it is there,” he said.
Despite his candid assessment, Justice Kulendi maintained that the judiciary remains home to many principled officers who administer justice without fear or favour.
He also referred to the disciplinary measures taken following the Number 12 judicial corruption exposé, explaining that while judicial officers found culpable have been removed from the bench, disciplinary processes must strictly adhere to due process.
“Day in, day out, people are being flushed out of the system. But there are considerations of due process. Anybody who is a judge was first a lawyer, and then they became a judge. So when you’re dealing with them, you can’t be arbitrary, and you cannot compromise due process.”
Justice Kulendi made the remarks during an interview on Citi FM on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, while discussing public perceptions of corruption within Ghana’s justice system.
