If We Continually Politicize Judges’ Decisions; Then Parliament And Castle Should Adjudicate Cases

Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has stated rather explicitly that it lies not in the hands of politicians, neither the Legislature nor the Executive to determine the course of justice at the law courts.

To him, so far as the country has chosen the path of democracy, the rule of law should be made to work and justices of the court spared unnecessary backlash after pronouncing judgement on landmark cases.

‘…it is not the responsibility of Parliamentarians or the Executive to determine the outcome of court cases…Judges are the sole dispensers of justice, so when they make a ruling, we need not flay them. I’m not perturbed if a judge makes a ruling in a particular direction, as long as it is in consonance with the law; but I’m more concerned with casting aspersions at the judiciary and sometimes at judges and attempts to politicize their rulings…We don’t need a Ghana where a President or a Minister dictates to a judge that court decisions in a particular way will suit their whims and caprices. No! that is not what we want…If that were to be the case then the courts should be closed so that if an issue crop up, Parliament should be made to rule over it…or the case taken to the Castle…we don’t need judges then, Parliamentarians should adjudicate cases,’ he stated.

Nana Akuffo-Addo was commenting on the brouhaha that occasioned the recent Ya-Na ruling in an exclusive interview with Kwame Sefa Kayi live in the studios of PEACE FM on the most listened to socio-economic and political talk show in the country, ‘Kokrokoo’.

It would be recalled that an Accra High Court, presided over by Justice E.K. Ayebi, acquitted and discharged fourteen persons on trial for conspiracy to murder the late Ya Na Yakubu Andani II on Tuesday, 29th March, 2011.

The court said not only did the state woefully fail to prove the guilt of the accused, but also, evidence led by the 12 prosecution witnesses had been inconsistent, fabricated stories against the accused persons and were subsequently discredited on cross-examination.

‘It was not sufficient for the prosecution to say that the Ya-Na was dead and leave it at that. Even the investigation was not conclusive of the identity of the charred body, nor was a DNA examination conducted to prove that the body was that of the Ya-Na…In law, the death of the Ya-Na must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, especially in the absence of a death certificate. If the prosecution failed to prove that the charred remains were the body of the Ya-Na, then the accused persons could not be held liable for the death of the Ya-Na,’ the trial judge held.

However, determined to find those who committed the crime, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, subsequently filed a notice of appeal at the Appeals Court in Accra against the High Court ruling on the Ya-Na murder case.

The NPP flagbearer averred that he has nothing against the state’s decision to appeal the ruling, since “that is normal”. However, he said, attempts to link the NPP to the ruling and suggest that the party played a role in Justice Ayebi’s landmark judgement was what bothered him.

Source: Peacefmonline.com