Minority Spokesman calls for release of all Fast Track convicts

Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, the Minority Spokesman on Legal, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, has urged the Minister of Justice to take proactive initiative to release all convicts of the Fast Track Court. He said the continued detention of those convicts constituted the abuse of human rights and disrespect for the rule of law.

Alhaji Mumuni, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on matters arising out of the ruling of the Supreme Court that the Fast Track Court was unconstitutional, said Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should not down play his role as the Minister of Justice.

He said just as his other role of an Attorney- General urged him to re-arraign Mr Tsatsu Tsikata so should his Minister of Justice spirit behove him to seek the rights of those convicts, who were victims of illegality.

Between now and the period of the review of the Supreme Court's decision, an illegality was being perpetrated and great injustice was being meted out to the victims, Alhaji Mumuni said.

Nana Akufo-Addo should be the last person to abuse the fundamental human rights of any Ghanaian since he is the Minister of Justice and an advocate of no mean stature of the rule of law, Alhaji Mumuni stressed.

He said the Constitution mandates the Minister of Justice to deal with all manner of people with justice and to ensure that no one suffers injustice from the hands of the law.

Alhaji Mumuni advised the Minister of Justice to bid his time and wait for the reasons to be adduced by the Supreme Court for its decision before talking about a review. "It is only on the facts or reasons for the judgement that the Minister of Justice can base his call for review. So why the rush?"

He said if the Minister was asking for restraint from lawyers and had in the same breath re-arraigned Mr Tsikata, then one could conclude that Nana Akufo-Addo had personalised the prosecution of Mr Tsikata.

Mr Doe Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip, said the government's description of the Supreme Court's ruling "as strange", was sending the wrong signals to the people since it was creating the impression of a confrontation between the Judiciary and the Executive.

He said it was reminiscent of the; "No court! No court! Episode of the Busia regime"; adding "If Nana gets those now being kept illegally in prison out, he would be scoring some major points".