Don’t sacrifice justice for selfish gains – Archbishop

A former Catholic Archbishop of Kumasi has asked Ghanaian judges to strive to administer justice, devoid of any material or selfish consideration to help advance the rule of law in the country.

The Most Reverend Peter Kwasi Sarpong, said judges “owe it a duty to the people, to be fair and firm in the adjudication of cases brought before them in line with the code of ethics of their profession”.

“Judges who decide to take bribe from the plaintiff or defendant in order to circumvent the cause of law and justice, by their actions, deviate from the principles expected of them in the discharge of their duties”, he noted.

Archbishop Emeritus Sarpong, addressing a congregation of the Spiritan University College at Ejisu, in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region, said “a nation whose judiciary is corrupt is as good as dead”.

Touching on the recent alleged exposure of some Ghanaian judges caught in various malpractices by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw, the Catholic priest said if the allegations leveled against them turned out to be true, then “they give credence to the consistent rumours of bribery and corruption in that sacred institution”.

“It is really tragic that one of the accused judges is alleged to have assured a looter of the nation’s goods, who should have been imprisoned years ago, that he would find a technical way to acquit him”, he lamented.

“I pray for Ghana. I hope this incident is only a tip of the iceberg. I also hope that the saying, ‘The law is an ass’, will not be applicable to this case”, Archbishop Emeritus Sarpong, also the Chancellor of the College, prayed.

He underscored the need for professionals and technocrats to demonstrate patriotism, honesty and sense of duty at all times to advance the development agenda of the nation.

The Catholic priest charged the graduating students to put into practice the values inculcated in them in the course of their training to help build a prosperous nation.

The Reverend Father Anthony Anomah, Rector of the College, affirmed their determination to produce well-resourced graduates with the requisite leadership qualities to spearhead the nation’s development.

A total of 73 students were graduated, and out of the number six passed out with First Class.