Private legal practitioner Mr Kofi Bekai has stated that due process is being followed in the removal of the Chief Justice, but the politics surrounding the entire process are questionable.
The lawyer explained that the president has followed through with the laid-down procedures enshrined in law for the removal of Chief Justice, but his worry is the political undertone surrounding her removal.
He recounted how President John Dramani Mahama declared in opposition that the judiciary needed a new personality to lead its reset agenda and even went ahead to encourage lawyers associated with the ruling government to do their best in getting to the Supreme Court Bench.
This political statement he asserted has clouded the entire removal process, making the process more of a political agenda.
The law requires that where there is a petition for the removal of the Chief Justice, the President shall, acting in consultation with the Council of State, appoint a committee consisting of two Justices of the Supreme Court, one of whom shall be appointed chairman by the President, and three other persons who are not members of the Council of State, nor members of Parliament, nor lawyers.
The processes he indicated had been followed but stressed that the removal of the Chief Justice was a political campaign promise that the President made and the suspension has made much easier to achieve this.
“A prima facie case has been established against the Chief Justice, but it must be proven. The petitioners would have to provide evidence to back up their allegations, and the Chief Justice’s lawyers would then have the opportunity to cross-examine them. The President followed due process. Yes, he followed the legal process, but my concern is that the president, while in opposition, stated that the judiciary needed to be reset, which would necessitate the appointment of a new chief justice.
As a result, the entire process takes on a political dimension. For the rule of law to prevail, justice must be seen to be done rather than done in any other way. He is following due process, but it is the political undertone that makes me uncomfortable. It appears that a campaign promise has been fulfilled,” he said on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana