Reality Hits A-G

‘Daily Post’ Runs Riot! …As Reality Hits A-G

SOURCE: GORDON ASARE BEDIAKO for NEW CRUSADING GUIDE

The Daily Post newspaper seems to be on a ‘media warpath’ with The New Crusading GUIDE and its Editor-In-Chief, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., as portrayed by its (Daily Post) publication of Tuesday, 31st August, 2010 under the headline, “Attorney General Strips Kweku Baako Naked.”

In the said publication, the paper sought to portray the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu to have contradicted The New Crusading GUIDE on the publication on the appointment of High Court as well as Supreme Court Judges, but per the 1992 Constitution, what the A-G told the Daily Post was not a departure from what The New Crusading GUIDE published in its edition of Monday 30th August, 2010.

The Daily Post, believing that it had been armed by the A-G per the interview, set out on a wild goose chase and wrongly implied that Mr. Baako wrote the story. In fact, the author of the story was Gordon Asare-Bediako, who is the Editor of the Monday edition of the paper. The Editor-In-Chief of The New Crusading GUIDE is presently out of the Ghanaian jurisdiction. He left Accra last week, August 23, 2010 for a two week private visit to the United States of America(USA).

The Daily Post wrote, “The New Crusading GUIDE, under the banner headline ‘Mills Appoints 30 High Court Judges within 18 months,’ Mr. Baako, a.k.a Mr. Document, sought to create the impression that President Mills has appointed more judges than any other President since Ghana went democratic in 1992. …Kweku Baako then went on to give the names of some judges who have been promoted to superior Courts”

Interestingly, the author of the story, Gordon Asare-Bediako, was heard live on Asempa FM, a local radio station on Monday, 30th August, 2010, arguing out the said publication with an NDC lawyer, Kakra Essamuah, who a few years ago was dismissed as a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and yet the paper stated that the story was written by Baako. It must be stated that, although the Editor-in-Chief of The New Crusading GUIDE is responsible for any publication of the paper, it is interesting how a story with a byline could be attributed to Mr. Baako.

The paper further stated: “…but stripping ‘Mr. Document’ naked yesterday as a journalist who does not take pains to crosscheck issues from the relevant authorities to suit his parochial interest,” the Attorney-General revealed that per the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President does not appoint judges to the superior courts”.

Quoting the Attorney General, The Daily Post stated, “The appointments take place when the Judicial Council chaired by the Chief Justice, recommends persons to be appointed to the High Court. Before the Judicial Council’s recommendations, all candidates participate in written and oral examinations organized by the Appointments Committee of the Judicial Council headed by the Chief Justice, who is currently Her Ladyship, Georgina Wood. The Judicial Council then recommends the appointments to the President.”

The explanation by the Attorney-General according to the paper, “firstly that it is the Chief Justice, on the advice of Judicial Council, who nominates judges to the courts, with the president only endorsing the nomination, and secondly, that many judges have been appointed in recent times by the Chief Justice to meet her court expansion programmes in the country, defeats Kweku Baako’s attempt to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians”.

It must be stated that, the author and the entire team of The New Crusading GUIDE fully appreciate the process of appointing Judges and Magistrates to any court as stipulated by the Constitution. Article 144, of the 1992 Constitution under the heading APPOINTMENT OF JUSTICES OF SUPERIOR COURTS AND CHAIRMAN AND OTHER MEMBERS OF REGIONAL TRIBUNALS clearly states that,

144. (1) The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.

(2) The other Supreme Court Justices shall be appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Judicial Council, in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.

(3) Justice of the Court of Appeal and of the High Court and Chairman of Regional Tribunals shall be appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Judicial Council.

(4) Panel members of Regional Tribunals other than the Chairman shall be appointed by the Chief Justice in consultation with the Regional Co-ordination Council for the region and on the advice of the Judicial Council.

(5) Justices of the Superior Courts and Chairman of Regional Tribunals shall be appointed by warrant under the hand of the President and sealed by the Presidential seal. . Ironically, Daily Post recalled the appointment of a Supreme Court Judge under the administration of former President Kufuor and stated: Defeated by a 5-4 ruling, the Kufuor government quickly beefed the Supreme Court up with Justice Afreh before it reviewed its 5-4 decision on the legality of the Fast Track Court brought against the then Attorney-General by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata former CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. The Supreme Court, as expected, after being beefed up, overturned its earlier decision.

“In the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice after Chief Justice Paul Acquah passed away, President Kufuor by-passed some senior Supreme Court Judges - Kpegah, Atuguba and Sofia Akufo - to nominate Justice Georgina Wood for appointment. She was virtually endorsed by an Appointments Committee of Parliament dominated by the NPP.

Coincidentally, Kakra Essamuah, in the same interview with Asempa FM on Monday, stated that, then President Kufuor, upon his return from Australia and unhappy with the earlier court ruling, “nominated Afreh”, making mockery of his earlier trumpeted position that it was the Judicial Council that nominates a Judge.

Although the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana in a press statement came out to educate the populace about empanelling the courts, Daily Post wrote that “Chief Justice Georgina Wood added fuel to fire when she empanelled a High Court to sit on Christmas day, December 25, 2008 to try NDC activists alleged to have flouted electoral rules. She again illegally empanelled a court on January 1, 2009, a statutory public holiday, to hear a motion by her brother-in-law, Atta Akyea, and some NPP big-wigs seeking an injunction on the declaration of results from the Tain Constituency presidential run-off in 2008”.

The Judges in their statement, stated unequivocally that, “It has become pertinent for us to explain how the Judiciary goes about its work in response to the very issues raised at the Press Conference organized by the NDC on 17th August, 2010.

Prior to the 2008 Elections, election matters had delayed for almost four years, a typical example is the Isaac Amoo and Rebecca Adotey case which started in 1996 to 2000. The case was finally determined after the tenure of that Parliament had expired.

In order not to repeat any such occurrence the Electoral Commission in conjunction with the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) organized workshops to update the knowledge of Judges on current Laws for the timely disposal of Election related disputes.

The Judges were also introduced to the new law in CI 47 by which the Chief Justice could assign matters for quick disposal during public holidays and any other days previously described as ‘non-days’. By invoking those existing provisions, Her Ladyship the Chief Justice was invoking a constitutional instrument which was approved by Parliament. So she was not doing anything untoward, unconstitutional or improper”.

The NDC, in their 2008 manifesto, at page 33, in part stated that, when voted into power, they (NDC) will “PLACE AN UPPER LIMIT” on the number of Supreme Court Judges.