The Commercial Courts, Supreme Court and High Courts at the High Street in Accra were all empty Monday morning with the judges opting to stay out until a planned demonstration by the Andani Youth was over.
The Judges temporarily vacated their posts as a security measure.
Judicial Secretary Justice Opoku Acheampong explained to Joy News the action was taken after police had failed to offer the necessary protection to the judges in the morning, contrary to what the Chief Justice (CJ) had agreed with the Inspector General of Police the day before.
“…When we came to work in the morning we could see no sign of police presence on our premises. So between 9:15 and 9:30 several judges expressed concern about their safety in view of this demonstration and presentation of petition,” he said.
After a meeting with the CJ it was agreed that Judges who felt insecure should not sit, whilst those who cared less can proceed with hearings.
A huge chunk of the courts were left empty, Joy FM’s Samson Lardi Ayenini who himself is a lawyer reported. But in a reaction, the deputy minister said the action was avoidable.
According to him, his checks have revealed that the police were ready to offer the necessary protection to the judges and had arranged with the demonstrators for only the leaders to proceed to the Courts to present their petition.
“I am told that, that is what happened in terms of crowd control. So really, one can safely assume that the anxiety or the fright of the members of the bench was quite unwarranted because the security had assured them of maximum protection,” he said.
He said similar arrangements had been entered into with the Legislature and “they did not indicate that they were scared,” he added.
“I think we can get the premise right that it is not the doings of anybody to scare anybody,” he insisted.
He also added government officials have been very measured and responsible in their comments on the judiciary and will not countenance statements that will attack the integrity of the Judiciary.
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