Justice Honyenuga’s vetting was purely political, unfortunate - Danquah Institute boss

The Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Richard Ahiagbah has described the vetting process of Supreme Court judge nominee, Justice Clemence Honyenuga as an unfortunate attempt by the minority in parliament to smear partisan tags on his reputation.

According to Mr Ahiagbah, the NDC members of the Appointments Committee failed in their mandate to subject Justice Clemence Honyenuga to the provisions of the law, rather, they sought to satisfy their own partisan inclinations.

“I want to say that Justice Honyenuga’s vetting was a political vetting and that is the climate which we find ourselves in. His appointment was prejudiced by statements that I think genuinely should not be looked with the political prism with which the Appointments Committee sought to do, especially on the NDC side…That for me was most unfortunate…”

He said the line of questioning by the NDC members on the Appointment Committee was counter-productive and barely contributed anything positive to the process.

Mr Ahiagbah in a reaction on Good Morning Ghana, Tuesday, May 12, 2020, to Justice Honyenuga’s vetting said the minority members should have allowed the vetting process to go according to the provisions of the law instead of seeking to ruin his hard-earned reputation.

“…Having gone through the rigorous education, built a career and then people take a day just to dismantle that and characterize the person as someone who is not qualified to do the job, I find that most unfortunate…it shouldn’t be done to anyone.”

Supreme Court justice nominee Clemence Homenuga, who doubles as the Paramount Chief of the Nyagbo Traditional Area, at a durbar said: “With the vision of the President and the gains made in his first term, Ghanaians may consider giving him another four years".

But Justice Honyenuga told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that his remarks were not necessarily to endorse the president but to wish him well in the forthcoming general elections.

“In reading that statement, we didn’t intend endorsing the president. Our understanding was that we were wishing him well…If out of political dissatisfaction some people are unhappy with whatever I am supposed to have said then I am sorry,” he said.

However, Richard Ahiagbah claims that the mere fact that the Judicial Service didn’t raise any objections to Justice Honyenuga’s speech is enough proof that he didn’t go against his laws governing his roles as an Appeals Court judge and a paramount chief.

“…There’s an immediate supervisory body, in terms of the breach of the code of conduct, the judicial service but have they raised any concerns about it? They haven’t, so it has now become a political exercise for the NDC to go to town and make this allegation otherwise they’re now telling us they’re usurping the position of the judicial service,” he stated.