The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Youth Organizer of NDC, Amos Blessing Amorse, has admonished that we must erase the mindset that Judges work for the presidents or regime that appointed them, and more so, the Justices may not do anything injurious to the particular president who appointed him or her to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Amorse was reacting to comments made by Fortune Alimi, an editor of Daily Guide, who sought “to prove a point that Justice Apau was appointed sole commissioner by Mr. John Mahama, the petitioner. He also sought to prove that Justice Apau, then Court of Appeal Judge, was elevated to the Supreme Court (in this case appointed) by the same John Mahama. By inference, the unrepentant apologist of the NPP news editor wanted Ghanaians to believe that so far as it was Mr. Mahama who appointed Justice Apau, he is on the 7 member panel as his representative and to serve his interest”. This was in relation to how Justice Apau crossed examined the election 2020 petitioner’s witness Dr. Kpessa Whyte.
He opinioned that ” the Supreme Court is not a judicial committee of some SRCs where a party to a dispute is required to appoint a representative from his/her hall to serve on a panel. Surprisingly, this was the picture that Mr. Alimi sought to paint. In line with his thinking, would it be fair to the hearing process if all of us decide to dig deep into who appointed the remaining 6 members of the panel hearing the election petition and conclude on whose interest they will serve at the end of the day? Already, a section of the Ghanaian populace has raised doubts about the impartiality of our Justices hearing the petition. Some of them might have formed that opinion based on what others they look up to have said about the Justices and also, how the Justices themselves have conducted affairs in the past”.
He further noted that “no matter what the outcome of the election petition is, all of us, including the Justices, must work at erasing this thinking in the minds of the populace that once you are appointed as a judge by a particular person or government, you must do the bidding of that person or regime even if the law says contrary. It is not healthy for our democracy”.
Read his full reaction below;
First, let me admit that I didn’t follow the proceedings when Dr. Kpessa-Whyte mounted the witness box. I’ve read comments suggesting that he was at his usual best. Something caught my attention when I decided to read social media reactions to what happened in court yesterday.
I chanced on a comment by Francis Kennedy Ocloo which registered how he was taken aback by the posturing of Justice Yaw Apau when the latter sought to question Dr. Whyte. As mentioned earlier, I didn’t follow the proceedings so I don’t know what actually happened. And let me add that I am yet to play the video to know exactly what happened. But reading Mr Ocloo’s post and the reactions to same suggested that he was not alone. A number of people were not pleased with Justice Apau’s posture. They had no problem with him asking questions but the kind of questions he asked and his posture.
When Mr. Ocloo raised this issue on his Facebook wall in the form of questions, Fortune Alimi, an editor of NPP tabloid, Daily Guide (I don’t know if he is still the editor) and a known devotee of this government, responded that “you mean the sole commissioner? He was the petitioner’s appointee to the SC.” This response by the editor of the NPP national Chairman’s newspaper is very revealing for a number of reasons.
Mr Alimi was seeking to prove a point that Justice Apau was appointed sole commissioner by Mr John Mahama, the petitioner. He also sought to prove that Justice Apau, then Court of Appeal Judge, was elevated to the Supreme Court (in this case appointed) by the same John Mahama. By inference, the unrepentant apologist of the NPP news editor wanted Ghanaians to believe that so far as it was Mr Mahama who appointed Justice Apau, he is on the 7 member panel as his representative and to serve his interest. More so, Justice Apau may not do anything injurious to the Petitioner who appointed him to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is not a judicial committee of some SRCs where a party to a dispute is required to appoint a representative from his/her hall to serve on a panel. Surprisingly, this was the picture that Mr. Alimi sought to paint. In line with his thinking, would it be fair to the hearing process if all of us decide to dig deep into who appointed the remaining 6 members of the panel hearing the election petition and conclude on whose interest they will serve at the end of the day? Already, a section of the Ghanaian populace has raised doubts about the impartiality of our Justices hearing the petition. Some of them might have formed that opinion based on what others they look up to have said about the Justices and also, how the Justices themselves have conducted affairs in the past.
Out of the 7 Justices hearing the election petition, it is a known fact that 6 of them were appointed by the NPP – one of them was appointed by former President Kufuor and subsequently elevated to the status of Chief Justice by President Akufo Addo. The remaining five are all appointees of Mr. Akufo Addo. The Chief Justice reserves the sole right to decide who sits on a case so his decision cannot be questioned in this instance. My point is, no matter what the outcome of the election petition is, all of us, including the Justices, must work at erasing this thinking in the minds of the populace that once you are appointed as a judge by a particular person or government, you must do the bidding of that person or regime even if the law says contrary. It is not healthy for our democracy. The situation was worsened when President Akufo Addo appointed an unbeatable number of people to the Supreme Court while the Council of State applauded him and said they were consulted. Justices are humans and so are we too. There is a saying that you don’t bite the hands that feeds you, but I think that sometimes the beneficiary of the said feeding must act like that stubborn baby boy who would damn all consequences and bite the mother’s nipple. Let’s all serve Ghana in our various capacities with a clean conscience.
Hallelujah!
Filed By : Agaatorne Douglas Asaah / awakenewsroom.com