Founder of the Diaspora Progressive Movement in the (USA), Dr Lawrence Appiah, has said that Ghanaians are losing confidence and hope in the ability of the court to administer justice in the country.
He accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of appointing cronies to the judiciary.
In a recent interview with ghananewsonline.com.gh, Dr Lawrence claimed that President Nana Addo Dankwa has deliberately appointed judges who are in bed with him in order to skip accountability.
In a statement signed by Dr Lawrence and circulated on social media, he said in Ghana the judiciary is gradually becoming a thin god, allowing them to pass some outrageous judgment.
He argued that, some of the judgments passed by some notable courts in the country leave much to be desired.
“In Ghana today, the birth certificate is not a legal document to prove that someone is a Ghanaian. Meanwhile, the birth certificate is the base document used to prepare a Ghanaian passport, which is used to travel the entire world.”
He emphasized that the judiciary is packed with NPP-inclined judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people onto the bench to frustrate Ghanaians.
He further said, it will take a new leader like John Mahama in the next NDC administration to lead the process to repair what he described as “badly dented image” of Ghana’s judiciary for people to win the trust in the system.
In his opinion, the deteriorated image of the judiciary easily sparks laughter from the citizenry when one decides to go to the court for justice, adding that, it is of the scariest existential threats to any democracy is when citizens think their judiciary holds no value for them or no use to them, and this is the security threat that the National Security apparatus tried to draw the attention of the nation to recently but was poorly received by the president.
He added that, such lawlessness in the country threatens the peace and stability of Ghana’s democracy and must be quickly corrected become If pragmatic measures are not taken, it will get to a stage where people will have no qualms about taking the law into their own hands because they do not have the confidence that they can get any justice in the system
Read below his full statement
Dr. Lawrence writes: The dangers of our current Judiciary
In Ghana, the Judiciary is gradually becoming a thin god, allowing them to pass some outrageous judgments. Let’s look at some of the judgments by the Judiciary:
In Ghana today, the birth certificate is not a legal document to proof that someone is a Ghanaian. Meanwhile, the birth certificate is the base document used to prepare a Ghanaian passport, which is used to travel all over the world.
The same Supreme Court ruled the member of Assin North, Hon. Gyakye Quayson, after he was elected by his constituents, ruled that not only should he not be able to represent his constituents, they went further to order parliament to strike his name from parliament records as if he never entered parliament.
During the recently ended limited registration exercise by the Electoral Commission, the NDC and some Civil Society Organizations, filed a motion at the Supreme Court to stop the EC from conducting the exercise. The Chief Justice came and set a hearing date for October 17. Meanwhile, the whole limited registration exercise ended on October 2, 2023.
During the hearing of Hon. Gyakye Quayson’s case after the 2020 elections, the lower court ruled that he was not supposed to go to parliament whilst his case was ongoing. At the same time, another lower court hearing the case of the MP for Techiman South, ruled that the people of Techiman South need a representative in parliament, so while the case was ongoing, the MP could still represent his people. The case is now stalled in that court.
This same outrageous court agreed with the Attorney General that, after Hon. Gyakye Quayson, had been elected the second time to parliament, was to appear in court every day for hearing. The case has become inactive when the minority in parliament resolved to join their colleague in court.
When the executive needs a reform, the President is changed. When the legislative needed a reform, the Speaker was changed. When the Judiciary needs a reform, the Chief Justice needs to be changed. If Nana Addo, could remove the Electoral Commissioner, the Auditor General and it was good, so should John Mahama be able to remove the Chief Justice. We need serious reforms in every institution, including the NPP. This is one of the reasons Ghanaians want him to be President again.
I heard for talking too much, the Paramount Chief of Dormaa Traditional Council and a High Court Judge, Osagyefo Agyeman Badu II, has been transferred from the Greater Accra to the Volta Region. (Ghanaians are not angry enough)
Mahama reba.
Dr. Lawrence is the Founder of the Diaspora Progressive Movement in USA.
By Lawrence Odoom