Dr Ayine exercised his ‘Freedom of Expression’ under the 1992 constitution – NDC

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Aseidu Nketia has stated that, the party’s position on Dr. Ayine’s matter about the independence of the Judiciary are views he is entitled to in line with his freedom of expression, guaranteed under the 1992 constitution.

“He was courteous to the Court and kept his language temperate and decent. He stayed within the bounds of professionalism. He was neither scurrilous nor scandalous. For him to be accused by the Chief Justice of disparaging Ghana’s Judiciary over these tempered and justified comments, is not only bizarre and unfortunate, but speaks volumes about the Chief Justice”.

He said this at a press conference on Monday to disclose the party’s stand on the petition to the General Legal Council, in which the Chief Justice himself, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, acting as a Complainant, is seeking to have disciplinary action taken against the NDC Member of Parliament for Bolga East, Dr. Dominic Ayine, who is also Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament.

“If these actions by the Chief Justice are intended to browbeat the NDC and its members and prevent us from stating our views on the performance of the Judiciary, we hereby state categorically that they will not succeed! We will not be intimidated. We, as a party, will continue to defend the cause of freedom and of right in this country. We did not strive to put in place the building blocks of a sustainable democracy only to allow judicial tyranny to rear its head. And, we will never be intimidated by partisan occupants of state institutions no matter the cost”.

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He averred that, the respect accorded the Judiciary is one that ought to be earned due to the ability of members of that important arm of government to show equanimity, balance and fairness to all manner of persons irrespective of their political colouration.

Mr. Nketia pointed out saying, that respect cannot be rammed down the throat of anyone through acts of suppression and brazen acts of intimidation. “The notion that the Judicial arm of government is beyond reproach is but a fantasy which cannot be sustained. The same is utterly inimical to democratic practice and must not be countenanced”.

He further revealed that, even as the action taken against Dr Ayine is unjustified, it is but a symptom of a larger problem added that it is no coincidence that virtually all the lawyers who have been reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council by the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, in recent times are aligned to the NDC.

“What is the Chief Justice’s personal interest in the punishment of NDC affiliated lawyers that he is so keen to initiate unwarranted actions against them? We dare say that such treatment would not be meted out to lawyers who are aligned to the NPP for reasons best known to the Chief Justice”.

Mr. Aseidu again stated, “Our progressive march as a constitutional democracy will suffer a grave setback if the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council were to proceed to hold an inquiry into this matter of Dr. Ayine’s statements at the CDD event. Our Constitution and laws protect the integrity and independence of the judiciary and not the sensibilities of judges.

Judicial vanity is a threat to justice and must not be countenanced in any democracy. We therefore join well-meaning Ghanaians to demand that the Chief Justice withdraws his petition against Dr. Ayine forthwith. We further serve notice that as a political party, we are keenly following events, and shall resist judicial tyranny with all our might”.

He said, the way in which the Supreme Court, in the hearing of the 2020 Election Petition continuously shielded the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, from scrutiny and accountability, has been the subject of critical comment by many people of which much of the criticism has been from people who are in no way associated with the NDC.

Mr. Nketia stressed that, the letter from the Judicial Secretary to the Disciplinary Committee Chairperson of the General Legal Council, indicates that Hon. Dr. Dominic Ayine made during a panel discussion on Presidential Election Petitions and their impact on Africa’s Democracy, organized under the auspices of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) call for such disciplinary action.

According to him, during the panel discussion referred to above, when asked about what he made of the independence of the Judiciary in the wake of decisions in the course of the recent 2020 Election Petition, Dr. Ayine stated his honest, well-reasoned and well-researched views as not only an academic of so many years, but also as a lawyer of high repute, a former Deputy Attorney General, a Member of Parliament and the Chairman of Parliament’s Subsidiary Legislation Committee.

“It therefore, came as a shock to many in academia, civil society, the legal fraternity and, indeed, to us in the NDC, that the Chief Justice has initiated processes to have Dr. Ayine investigated and disciplined for his comments”.