Some, not all Ghanaians have lost trust in the judiciary – Supreme Court Judge nominee

Supreme Court judge nominee, Justice Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu, has acknowledged that some Ghanaians have lost trust in the country’s justice delivery system. Speaking during her vetting at Parliament on Tuesday, October 18, Justice Ackah-Yensu, who is currently an Appeals Court judge, however, noted that, the situation is not as bad as some persons are asserting. The Supreme Court judge nominee made these remarks while answering a question on ex-President John Dramani Mahama’s view that Ghanaians have lost trust in the judiciary. Ex-President Mahama, at a forum held for lawyers of the National Democratic Congress on August 28, lamented that the judiciary has a ‘broken image under the leadership of the current Chief Justice. He said that Ghanaians have lost trust in the judiciary, owing to some of its unanimous decisions, a situation he explains as dangerous to the country’s democracy. He stated that it would only take a new Chief Justice to chart a path to regaining public trust in the judiciary. “There is therefore an urgent need for the Ghanaian judiciary to work to win the trust and confidence of the citizenry and erase the widely held perception of hostility and political bias in legal proceedings at the highest courts of the land. “Unfortunately, we have no hope that the current leadership of our judiciary can lead such a process of change. We can only hope that a new Chief Justice will lead a process to repair the broken image that our judiciary has acquired over the last few years,” Mahama said. But, Justice Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu intimates that the former president’s view is wrong. “I am aware of some loss in trust and confidence but from where I am sitting as a judicial officer, I can confidently say that it is not true, with all due respect, that generally, the populace is losing trust,” she said. Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below: IB/WA

Supreme Court judge nominee, Justice Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu, has acknowledged that some Ghanaians have lost trust in the country’s justice delivery system. Speaking during her vetting at Parliament on Tuesday, October 18, Justice Ackah-Yensu, who is currently an Appeals Court judge, however, noted that, the situation is not as bad as some persons are asserting. The Supreme Court judge nominee made these remarks while answering a question on ex-President John Dramani Mahama’s view that Ghanaians have lost trust in the judiciary. Ex-President Mahama, at a forum held for lawyers of the National Democratic Congress on August 28, lamented that the judiciary has a ‘broken image under the leadership of the current Chief Justice. He said that Ghanaians have lost trust in the judiciary, owing to some of its unanimous decisions, a situation he explains as dangerous to the country’s democracy. He stated that it would only take a new Chief Justice to chart a path to regaining public trust in the judiciary. “There is therefore an urgent need for the Ghanaian judiciary to work to win the trust and confidence of the citizenry and erase the widely held perception of hostility and political bias in legal proceedings at the highest courts of the land. “Unfortunately, we have no hope that the current leadership of our judiciary can lead such a process of change. We can only hope that a new Chief Justice will lead a process to repair the broken image that our judiciary has acquired over the last few years,” Mahama said. But, Justice Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu intimates that the former president’s view is wrong. “I am aware of some loss in trust and confidence but from where I am sitting as a judicial officer, I can confidently say that it is not true, with all due respect, that generally, the populace is losing trust,” she said. Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below: IB/WA