A Justice nominee of the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Kwame Abidu Asiedu, has disclosed that he would use the philosophy of Ghana’s cultural values in determining the issues of the LBTQI+ matters.
When the nominee appeared before the parliament’s vetting committee, James Agalga (MP for Builsa North) asked him a philosophical question.
When asked what philosophy he would bring to the Supreme Court bench, he replied that he would bring true faith and allegiance to the constitution.
Following his response, Chair Joseph Osei Owusu interjected, stating that his allegiance to the constitution would necessitate that he interpret certain words and clauses and whether he would be a timorous soul.
He responded that a judge is required to conduct research, read the facts, and research the law to ensure that the line you are on is correct before speaking.
The nominee stated that it makes no difference whether his or her viewpoint differs from the majority of the panel’s members.
In a follow-up question, Mahama Ayariga, the MP for Bawku Central, asked him what his position would be on the issue of the argument gender is not only limited to males and females but other categories.
The MP said the constitution doesn’t give a clear interpretation of that, and as a judge, he would be asked to take a position.
In his response, the nominee said his allegiance would be complete allegiance to the constitution and ”if the constitution says gender is A+B that is what I will go for. If the constitution says S+Z that is what I will go for”.
The chair then asked what he would do if the constitution did not provide the answer he provided, to which he replied that he would conduct research and come to an established position.
He was then asked if he was capable of going above and beyond everyone else and reaching a conclusion even when established positions say otherwise.
His response was affirmative, but when asked if he would accept the position that gender includes more than male and female from his research work in other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and others, he said, “But you didn’t mention Ghana.” So my research would also ask, “What do Ghanaians’ cultural practices say?” Thank you very much”.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
