Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, has come to the former President John Dramani Mahama’s defense after he was attacked for calling for the cleansing of the judiciary but not under Chief Justice Justice Anin Yeboah.
The former president’s remarks elicited reactions, including one from a retired court of appeals judge Justice Isaac Douse.
The retired judge advised Mr. Mahama not to drag the Supreme Court into the mud because such an act could jeopardize Ghana’s democracy.
Mr. Mahama lamented to a conference of lawyers from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Sunday, August 28, 2022, that the judiciary has now become the butt of jokes as a result of its biased rulings and decisions on cases with a political tinge.
He observed that the country’s judiciary is “broken” under the leadership of Justice Anin-Yeboah, and hoped that a “new Chief Justice” would lead an image-cleansing crusade in the future, because the current Chief Justice, in his opinion, cannot lead such a process.
In response, Justice Douse stated that those who criticize the judiciary must learn from history.
“It is difficult to agree with him [Mahama] on the soiled image of the judiciary, the judiciary has a range from the magistrate court all the way to the supreme court. From what I’ve read, he has a problem with the supreme court and the cases that they took there and history has shown us something that we should not do too frequently.”
He recalled “In 1970 one of the highest proclaimed democrats in this country, Kofi Abrefa Busia after he lost a case in court went on radio and announced that no court can compel the government to follow its decision. It was a very poor decision and we must be very careful on how we make some of these decisions.”
“The supreme court is a very important body to which all of us will refer from time to time and if we drag it in the mud too much it will affect everybody as well.”
However, Dr. Clement Apaa believes that the judiciary, not former President John Dramani Mahama, dragged itself through the mud.
He insisted that the Supreme Court, not Mr Mahama, had dragged itself through the mud.
”The SC jumped into the mud by itself, JM didn’t push it into or is dragging it in mud. JM has spoken the minds of many, except the beneficiaries of questionable decisions by the Court. The Court must take full responsibility for its deteriorated image.
A partisan judiciary is indeed a danger to our democracy. It’s a shame that many who claim to be defenders of democracy pretend not to see the obvious. Indeed Ghanaians have lost faith in our current justice delivery system. Let the global community take note!”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana