Supreme Court is not a chamber for peace but justice – Karbo

Former National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Anthony Abayefa Karbo, says the petitioners challenging the 2012 presidential election did not go to court to seek peace but justice.

"The petitioners did not go to court to plead peace; we went to the Supreme Court because it is a court of justice; is not a court of peace or benevolence. It is where you go to plead your case and you ask that justice must be served".

Anthony Karbo was reacting to the incessant calls on the parties involved in the presidential election petition to accept the verdict of the Supreme Court.

The National Peace Council, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and other civil society groups have called on parties in the case to restrain their supporters from jubilation if the verdict does not go in their favour.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) has also added its voice by appealing to Ghanaians to refrain from provocative actions and utterances that have the tendency to breed conflict.

But on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Friday, Anthony Karbo said justice is paramount for peace to prevail in the country after the court verdict.

"Peace was never a part of our pleadings; the Supreme Court is not a chamber of peace. If we were pleading peace, we would have gone to the Peace Council with our petition" he stressed.

According to him, everyone is crying out for peace, but no one is crying out for justice to be served.

Anthony Karbo noted that the petitioners are seeking justice in relation to statutory violation of the electoral process like over voting, unsigned pink sheets, duplicate serial numbers and voting without biometric verification.

“We are asking the Supreme Court to deliver justice in respect of these matters not peace. When we say that justice comes before peace, we mean it”.

Anthony Karbo maintained that when truth reigns in the final verdict of the court case, every Ghanaian will happily and wholeheartedly accept it.