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General News of Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Source: Myjoyonline.com
Mr. Yaw Oppong, a law lecturer
Law lecturer at the Central University College, Yaw Oppong, says the removal of judges found guilty of taking bribes should be seen as a win for rule of law and democracy in Ghana.
Yaw Oppong, who is also a legal practitioner, says although the removal of the judges by the Judicial Council would work to repair perceived or real damage to the image of the judiciary, it should rather been seen as an enhancement of the judicial process.
“When sometimes I hear that we are doing this to purge the judiciary and assure the [judiciary] will bounce back and so on. No. The assurance that when a judge is alleged to have engaged in a misconduct the same system is capable of resolving the issue and openly announcing to the people that this is the punishment which we have applied to that person, I think that alone is sufficient,” Mr Oppong said.
Yaw Oppong was commenting Tuesday on PM Express on the sacking of 20 lower court judges implicated in an exposé by hooded sleuth, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team have handed over 500 hours of video evidence to Chief Justice Georgina Woode reportedly capturing about 32 judges and over 100 judicial service staff taking bribes to alter justice.
The chief justice said Monday that the removal of the judges was to assure Ghanaians that the Judicial Council would take prompt and resolute action to redeem the image of the judiciary.
But commenting on the issue, Yaw Oppong said although seeking to redeem the image of judiciary is good, Monday’s announcement does more.
“At the end of the day democracy has won. This is not about the dented image of the judiciary but rather the enhancement of it,” he told show host Nana Ansah Kwao IV.
PM Express, a current affairs programme, airs on Joy News channel on Multi TV every evening at 9:00pm.
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