Supreme Court showed bad judgment in Mornah’scase - Arthur Kennedy

A senior member of the opposition New Patriotic Party has accused the Supreme Court of showing “very bad judgment” and failing to “take cognizance of common sense” in the timing of its ruling on the case challenging among others, the legality of the court’s earlier decision to continue hearing of the presidential election petition on a daily basis including public holidays.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday April 30, 2013, ruled in favour of General Secretary for the People’s National Convention, Bernard Mornarh who filed a petition challenging the Court’s earlier ruling allowing hearing of a petition against a presidential election on a daily basis, including public holidays.

The Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sit on holidays and further declared that Article 71 as well as Constitutional Instruments (CI) 71 and 65 are unconstitutional.

The Court also ruled that parties involved in election dispute can appeal the final determination of the case.

But Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show on Friday May 3, 2013, said “with the greatest respect, I think the (Supreme) Court has shown poor judgment in this case and again with the greatest respect, I think it does not take cognizance of common sense.”

“I don’t see why they had to rule on the Bernard Mornah case right in the middle of the ongoing presidential petition. Whom were they thinking of? I think they should have waited so that any decision would have been for the future. It means the case may never be resolved, because if President Mahama wins Nana Addo will appeal, and if Nana Addo wins President Mahama will appeal.”

Dr Kennedy argued that the ongoing petition was affecting the confidence of President Mahama, Nana Akufo-Addo, the entire Ghanaian populace, as well as Ghana’s international image. It also creates avenues to prolong the case which is inimical to Ghana’s development agenda.

On the aspect of the ruling which declared that it was unconstitutional for the court to sit on holidays and further declared that Article 71 as well as Constitutional Instruments (CI) 71 and 65 - which deal with working on holidays - were unconstitutional, Dr Kennedy wondered: “Don’t doctors work on holidays? Don’t the police work on holidays? Aren’t they also Ghanaians?”