There are no political judges-Supreme Court nominee

Mr Henry Anthony Kwofie, a Justice of the Court of Appeal and a Supreme Court Nominee has told the Appointment Committee of Parliament that there are no political judges.

He reiterated that it was dangerous for a judge to be described as a political judge.

Mr Justice Kwofie made the revelation when he appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament for his vetting as a Nominee to Ghana’s Apex Court.

Responding to a question by Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, asked Mr Justice Kwofie whether there were political judges?

In his response, Mr Kwofie said: “Honourable Member, there are no political judges. And it is dangerous to describe a judge as political this, political that. It is a very dangerous thing for a judge to even allow himself to be described that way.”

“So, I will say that there are no political judges. If a judge must act according to his conscience and the oath he takes, there are no political judges.

Dr Forson: “But we sometimes get political judgement?”

Mr Justice Kwofie: “Honourable Member, if there are no political judges, there cannot be political judgements”.

Dr Forson again asked Mr Justice Kwofie why his tax clearance certificate was zero rated by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from 2021 to date?

The Nominee explained to the Committee that his only source of income was that of the salaries paid him by the state as a judge and that his taxes were deducted from source by the state.

He noted that he only applied for the tax clearance certificate from the GRA, who issued it to him.

The Minority Leader told the Nominee that the Committee was yet to receive the report of the National Security on him.

At this point, Mr Justice Kwofie in his response said: “I am grateful. But I would like to say that I have no criminal record. I would like to put it on record.”

Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chairman of the Appointment Committee of Parliament, stated that the Committee was expecting two reports on the Nominee from the National Security and that if the reports come and there was the need for them to recall him they would but if they did not recall him it means there was nothing further to be investigated.

He said the Committee would ask the GRA to explain to them how a person who was paid every month and whose taxes were deducted every month was declared zero tax rated.

In attendance at the vetting was Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo and other Justices of the superior courts of Ghana.