'We demand the whole truth of murdered judges and not vengeance' - GBA

Accra, June 28, GNA - The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Monday demanded "the whole truth" of the abduction and callous murder of the three High Court Judges and an army officer on June 30, 1982.

"This would enable us as a nation forgive the perpetrators of this heinous crime; put the past behind us as a nation and start afresh." Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, President of the GBA, who made the call at the unveiling of the bust of three High Court Judges at the Forecourt of the Supreme Court building in Accra, however declared that the GBA was not seeking vengeance but "the truth of the matter".

The slain judges were, Mrs Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, Justice Fred Poku Sarkodee and Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, who were all abducted from their homes and killed at the Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains and their bodies doused with petrol and set on fire. The GBA also reaffirmed its faith in the work of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC).

Mr Adu-Gyamfi noted that the erection of the bust of the Judges within the precincts of the Supreme Court would serve as a reminder that as a nation, its citizens cherished the Rule of Law.

"This solemn event is also an acknowledgement and vindication of the courageous stand taken by GBA to immortalize the name of the slain judges," he added.

The President of the GBA said: "If a as a nation, we resolutely rededicate ourselves to defend and protect the constitution, ensure the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession and further ensure that the fundamental human rights are scrupulously observed, then these fallen martyrs would not have died in vain."

A fourth person abducted and murdered with the judges was a retired Army Officer, Major Sam K.Acquah.