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
