Why Justice Atuguba was suspended for 6 months for dissenting against the government

A former, revered Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, William Atuguba, has recalled a time when he was not empanelled on the Bench for 6 months after he dissented against a move by the government.

Led by a Chief Justice at the time, Justice Atuguba said that he led a solo dissent to a move regarding the Tsatsu Tsikata v The republic, which earned him a suspension from the head of the judiciary at the time.

This, he added, was at a point in his career when he was the most senior person on the Bench.

Recalling the moment during his address at a public lecture organised by Solidare Ghana and the Department of Political Science of the University of Ghana, Justice Atuguba said all he sought to do was to ensure that the right processes were followed in a matter of an unfair termination of the tenure of another colleague of his on the Supreme Court Bench.

“Despite the clear provisions of article 146, a very knowledgeable chief justice of Ghana wrote on two occasions to a justice of the supreme court terminating his tenure as a supreme court judge on the ground of ill health without complying with the said article 146.

"On being shown the letters by the judge concerned I strongly exhorted him to reply them raising the contravention of article 146. The same chief justice indirectly suspended me for 6 months by not empanelling me on any case immediately after I maintained my solo dissent in Tsatsu Tsikata v. The Republic when it came up for review by the Supreme Court.

“Before I curtail this issue, the same Chief Justice sidelined me as the then realistic most senior justice of the Supreme Court contrary to article 144 (6) who should act as the Chief Justice in his absence. I felt that since the Supreme Court is the custodian of the constitution, I could not condone its infractions.

"I, therefore, assumed the functions of the Chief Justice with clearance from the then most senior justice who was then very seriously indisposed and handicapped until I got to know from him very shortly afterwards that he had become fit enough to act as Chief Justice upon the death of the then incumbent Chief Justice.

"It is this event which led Kweku Baako, a very prominent journalist, to state on a radio program that in the bid for the post of Chief Justice, I declared myself as the acting Chief Justice, but when the said most senior justice of the supreme court got wind of it, he said ‘You lie, I can act.’

"When I heard that allegation I was gravely hurt since I have never in my life made any move to be appointed the Chief Justice of Ghana because I consider lobbying for a position as a corrupt act since it involves compromising one’s conscience,” he stated.

The public forum was on the theme, “Protecting Ghana’s Democracy: The Role of the Judiciary.”

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