Justice Geogina Wood; The veil behind Judicial Corruption!

I read with disdain a statement purportedly issued from the office of the chief

Justice Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood in which the Chief Justice call on her

critics to impeach her if they believe she has violated the laws of the land.

The statement further stated that the Chief Justice acted within the law and in

accordance with the Judiciary’s pledge to deal with election related issues

without delay and also called on the critics to respect the sanctity of the

Judiciary and asked them to follow due process in their bid to correct what they

believe are wrongs within the judiciary. Subsequently , the Judicial Secretary

also granted an interview in which he mentioned that a clause in the Courts

statutes give the Chief Justice the leverage to get the courts to work on

holiday. However when asked about the supremacy of the holiday clause on the

1992 constitution, he declined to answer but went further to ask people who are

not happy to go to the court and seek clarification.

Not only am I stunned by the Chief Justice’s declaration,I am deeply

disappointed in our Judiciary over this reckless statement and the attempt by

the chief to seek public sympathy. They have also run to the media for refuge. I

thought they will stay off the media as they counseled the NDC Chairman, but

they themselves have jumped into the fray and have even made prejudicial threats

to Ghanaians.

Why do Ghanaians tolerate the morally obnoxious, and justify their eccentricity?

As a citizen, I lament deeply over the many bad choices we have made by electing

some human-caricatures to positions of trust. The laws they make and intepret

affect our daily lives. Don’t they?

No sane person who is clear in his/her conscience, who seeks the good of the

judiciary would applaud that reckless statement from the chief justice Geogina

Wood! Since when did the judiciary start dispensing justice in the media? The

chief justice clearly waded into party politics the very day she advised the NPP

on how to prevent the electoral commission from holding election at Tain

constituency! A fair minded judge who, being mindful of his/her position, would

not meddle in party politics! How can she be trusted after her involvement in

that Ex-parte motion debacle? Is it true that, Ataa Akyea was caught on tape

alluding to the fact that the Chief Justice advised him on how to deal with the

Electoral Commission in court? For how long are we going to allow the chief

Justice to exploit the independence of the judiciary to forestall remedial

interventions to pervert justice?

A nation that does not have, or cultivate, the fortitude to challenge harmful

utterances by our nation’s corrupt judges should be prepared to see injustice

become an acceptable norm. In my opinion, there will be serious implications for

our nation’s democracy if some judges are allowed to adjudicate on criminal

matters, when they are, themselves, part of an extensive criminal network.

While judiciary independence serves a substantive function in preserving the

rule of law, its inflexible application allows for self-serving rulings by the

nation’s corrupt judges. The behaviour of these judges, sometimes, makes the

public question the integrity of, and the wisdom in, our laws, and whether they

play any meaningful contributions to the preservation of social order and

equality in socio-human relations.

Rather than discounting the pervasiveness of the moral deficits and corruption

in the judicial service, and labeling them as just one of many remediable human

imperfections, the public must protest against fielding lawbreakers as

policymakers.

By coming together to initiate a discourse on judicial criminality, we can bring

our moral influence to bear on the judiciary to review unnecessary judicial

provisions. We cannot sit down, as people, and allow the likes of Geogina Wood

to operate outside the framework and continue to make mockery of due process. We

have a moral obligation, as Ghanaians, to expose Justice Geogina Wood as an

indecent human being, and one of the few corrupt justices in the nation’s

judiciary.

The judiciary, executive and the legislature are supposed to be a check on each

others as a security for our democracy. However, the ultimate power to check all

these three institutions lie in the people of Ghana. Why do we as a people fear

so much to speak the truth and live by it. The Chief Justice has been

compromised and she needed to step aside. Let our leaders be principled, else

our society shall never make that progress we the young ones are optimistic

about. it's only the fool who would sit down unconcerned while clear cases of

abuse of the judiciary is enacted like Atta Akyea confessing that he connived

with the Chief Justice to pervert justice!

I am not seeking the destruction of the courts; this is a trait which is not

part of my persona. However to be silent when personalized intransigence and

sexism collude against social justice is an injustice in itself. I am poised to

pulverize any backroom dealings by the nation’s judges to misapply the

fundamentality of justice and Justice Geogina wood's benaviour and unethical

demeanour is the beginning of my crusade.

Ghana, our dearest country, is at a crossroad. It is about time that we shed our

cheery attitude, and take the business of justice seriously and call for the

removal of tainted judges such as Geogina Wood. Some one tell that chap she's

becoming unpleasant to the public. Madam Geogina Wood must know that the Court

of Public Opinion gives hope to the Ghanaian when our state funded but

politically driven Courts join the corrupt. Georgina Wood, stop feeling bossy,

the tax payer pays you and your judges to interpret; not to misinterpret the

laws. Stop the nonsense and get your courts to give hope to the Ghanaian or just

bow out of office.

We shall be back!

Emmanuel Dela Coffie

www.delacoffie.wordpress.com