Chief Justice’s NPP Politics Unmasked

By Aaron Okyere

… Kufuor Wanted Her As CJ At All Costs As They Dread Modibo Ocran and Kpegah

… Plot To Use Judicial Terrorism to Destabilize Mills’ Govt. Rolls Out

Ripples from the legal reasoning adduced by Justice Samuel Marful-Sau are finally coming home to roost with the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Georgina Wood’s political colouration being stripped bare by some key persons involved in her elevation to the current position. Daily Postintelligence has been digging, delving and probing the circumstances leading to the ‘Delphic Judgements’ being delivered by the noble men and women of Ghana’s judiciary. The facts as assembled by this paper are too intoxicating to the point of choking a man mountain; the empanelling of judges is being done to destabilize the NDC political machine, cause public disaffection for the J.E.A. Mills’ administration and pave way for a possible recapturing of power by the ‘matemeho’ political bigots!

Leading the silent crusade from the judicial wing of the NPP political machine is the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgna Theodora Wood. For a clear understanding of why she would operate for the gain of the NPP, the Daily Post has unmasked the political depth to which the Chief Justice sunk in her bid to get the nod as the head of the judiciary. This political favour was facilitated not only by her acceptance to chair the MV Benjamin Cocaine Committee but also by virtue of pleasing her political mentors in the NPP in return for this reward of the CJ. The MV Benjamin Cocaine Scandal only presented a smokescreen for Justice Georgina Wood to be prepared for the CJ job. At a high level meeting attended by the then President Kufuor, his Secretary, Chief of Staff, the President’s jury-consul and Security Capo, it was agreed that a high profile public duty such as chairing the Cocaine Committee, be given her since it would give her the necessary exposure and ingratiate her to the people of Ghana. However, as things panned-out at the disgraceful cocaine probe, it left a few trusted associates in the government wondering if the reputation of the now CJ had not suffered some damage due to the suppression of some evidential material which left tongues wagging. Whatever the merits and demerits of the MV Benjamin circus, the then Justice Wood, to the mind of her political mentors had performed the most critical task of doing enough to shield some of the ‘big guns’.

Daily Postintelligence gathered how the then Chairperson of the cocaine Committee took vital and incriminating evidence to the then President Kufuor on the conduct of the former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Patrick Acheampong. The decision to refer the evidential material to her political mentors in the NPP, no doubt carved her out to still be considered for the top judicial job at the time the NPP government was fully aware of the sufferings of the late Justice Acquah, who was then terminally ill.

Clearly, investigations by our intelligence revealed that Justice Georgina Wood saved the career of the former IGP and hence earned the respect of J.A. Kufuor and in particular, Kwadwo Mpiani.

When Justice Acquah finally gave up the ghost, the search for the new CJ became a matter of life and death for the top brass of the NPP. A very top Minister in the Kufuor government was mandated to inform Justice Georgina Wood of President Kufuor’s intentions to make her the CJ. The then President Kufuor was said to be full of nerves over the thought of seeing Justice F.Y. Kpegah ascend the position even temporarily. Justice Kpegah, the most senior Supreme Court judge was hated and loathed by the NPP administration. They even wished him dead, the intelligence intoned.

When the top NPP Minister broke the news to Justice Wood of Kufuor’s intentions, in fairness, she declined and rather proposed the late Justice Modibo Ocran. When Kufuor was informed he rejected it on the grounds that Modibo Ocran’s political ideology and belonging (Nkrumahism) posed a great threat to the policies of his ‘ma te me ho’ party – the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition.

What surprised the intelligence was the refusal of Justice Georgina Wood to propose Justice Sophia Akufo. As a colleague lady, the action surprised them because on the assumption of office of Kufuor in 2001, she became very close to Justice Wiredu. However, Justice Sophia Akufo was not recommended because the NPP-dominated Ghana Bar Association under the direction of Messrs Nutifafa Kuenyehia and Sam Okudzeto opposed her nomination to the Supreme Court under the NDC administration in 1995.

On the other hand, the intelligence claimed the fear of seeing Justices Kpegah and Modibo Ocran become CJ pushed Kufuor and his henchmen to put pressure on Justice Georgina Wood. She obliged finally based on her UP antecedents.

As noted by a top Minister in Kufuor’s government, it did not take much consultation for her to finally accept the position of CJ after the refusal to offer the position to Kpegah and Modibo because back at the University of Ghana, she used to discuss the Danquah/Busia ideology with passion. She is said to go the extreme as if she has been injected with the blood of the ‘ma te me ho’ political bigots. Justice Wood, Daily Post can confirm, is dyed-in-the-wool UP lady.

With this background provided by the intelligence, they argued that Justice Georgina Wood’s first loyalty is to Kufuor and the NPP, because they facilitated her ascension to the high office of CJ. Thus, high profile cases involving elements belonging to the UP political tradition are bound to be manipulated to satisfy parochial interests. In this case, the decision of the CJ to appoint a High Court Judge to sit on the insidious and vexatious NPP writ to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from organizing the Tain by-election to declare a President for the nation rings a hilarious tune.

As noted by the intelligence, the CJ is always unease at public functions when in the company of some NDC functionaries. We are working on additional dossier after our intelligence radar picked images of some pro-NPP judges holding regular nocturnal meetings with top NPP gurus. Stay tuned