Arrest Kwabena Adjei -Oquaye

THE SECOND Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye has called for the immediate arrest of Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for causing fear and panic within the judiciary, with his recent public utterances. 'If a responsible man tells angry people to direct their anger against the judiciary, what are you telling them to go and do, to go and kill the judges or to go and manhandle them, or to go and close down the courts,' he questioned. The 'Apparatchiki', as he is affectionately called in political circles, warned those behind this to 'Stop before it is too late. We want democracy, not Mobocracy.' Again, the Deputy Speaker pointed out that the statement implied violence, trouble and improper way of doing things, meaning 'You are not talking about the Constitutional way of doing things. If there are many ways of killing a cat, does it also mean that they should go and start breaking their necks? He recounted that 'never in the history of this country has there been an official condemnation by government against the existing legal system, as it happened under the PNDC. The Supreme Court building was occupied and closed down by operatives of the then regime.' Dr. Adjei's statement that 'there are many ways in killing a cat,' which has generated intense brouhaha in the country, did not go down well with the Deputy Speaker, because according to him, it smells of diabolic intentions like it happened in the days of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), he told The Chronicle in an interview yesterday. 'If we are not guided by history, then this country cannot get anywhere. We've seen it before and somebody must warn them quickly. And I am calling upon all well meaning civil society organizations, churches and others to come out against this kind of thing. They shouldn't even start it before it spoils this country for us, because when they start, you will never know when they may end,' he said. Condemning the legal system in totality, physically closing down the courts and setting up parallel organizations, he alleged, resulted in the killing of the three judges. 'It was led in a crescendo fashion, rising to the tempo until it culminated in the murder of the High Court judges. We can't sit down for this to happen again, and that is why well meaning Ghanaians must begin to reflect on the past, and say that we are not going to take this anymore.' At a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, Dr. Kwabena Adjei was reported to have called on the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood to act swiftly in redeeming the sinking image of the judiciary, because its members were being perceived and criticized by the public for being politically biased in the line of duty. He pointed accusing fingers at some judges, who supposedly thwarted efforts by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mrs. Betty Mould- Iddrisu to prosecute and jail Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, the former Chief of Staff, and Charles Wereko-Brobbey, the former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Ghana @ 50 Secretariat, and other high profile cases. According to him, if nothing is done to arrest the situation, the NDC party executives will 'clean' the judiciary, suggesting that 'there are many ways to kill a cat.' Prof. Oquaye continued that the statement made by Dr. Adjei was a constitutional and legal issue, and that it should not be treated with kids' glove. He said judges may err or may not appreciate certain aspects of the law. To him, 'that is why there is the appellate system. And if the government or the NDC party is not happy, the decent thing to do without generating unnecessary acrimony in the Ghanaian body politic is to appeal.'Asked if the judge erred, he observed that the judge did not err because he referred to the constitutional provision. The appointment of the Supreme Court judges, he noted, were done by the P(NDC), except Justice Afreh, who was appointed by former President John Agyekum Kufuor, when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came to power. 'So if the court is packed, who packed it? Mr. Afreh's appointment had already been approved by the Judicial Council under ex-President Jerry John Rawlings. It was lying there, already approved by the Council. Many of the senior judges were all appointed before 2001. The present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was made a Supreme Court judge by the NDC after she had gone through the ranks for several years upon recommendation of the Judicial Council,' Prof. Oquaye explained. He noted that the Attorney General (AG), therefore, has the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal and if she was still not happy, she could continue to the Supreme Court, and further to the Review of the Supreme Court, where seven judges or even the full bench may sit, because it is a system. 'You don't go about shouting. You go about due process, and please due process is due process. I will advise the NDC as a party, because the chairman has spoken – it means the party has spoken. And so they should not try to bring trouble into the country,' Prof. Oquaye said. He added that 'you don't win your cases by responding to mob requests. You can only win a case in court based on the merits of the case.' He, however, expressed that 'I feel sorry for the Attorney General. I believe she is a good lawyer, I believe she is an intelligent lady, but I will only advise her to do her work as a lawyer. Don't allow yourself to be directed by the mob, because that is not the work of a lawyer.' Furthermore, he expressed that the killing of the three High Court judges, Mrs. Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, Mr. Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie and Mr. Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, did not happen in just one day during the erstwhile PNDC regime. During Dr. Hilla Limann's regime as President of Ghana, Prof. Oquaye recounted that the people agitated the same way Dr. Adjei is doing today, and according to him, the Constitution was overthrown before executing their plans. Source : Nathaniel Y.Yankson - Ghanaian Chronicle


Ghana has long outgrown leadership foolishness and self-centeredness, two cancerous elements in the African political theater.This Ghanaian experiment has been enviously tapped as a model of democratic success which we all guard with pride and vigilance even amidst successive attempts to wrestle it away through usage of force and intimidation. In the past this nonsense would be laughed off or buried under acquiesence. Not anymore. Times have changed, giving rise to serious perceptions of how our leaders behave towards positions they are entrusted to administer on behalf of the people .It is different also because each generation espouses challenges mired by progress and advancements. None accepts the daunting events of yesterday nor repetition of gloom and doom treated as alternate to spirited participation in governance whose guidance is the rule of law.To this generation, remarks like these are deemed as assaults on their intelligence. "The unfortunate remarks may have emanated out of ignorant power-drunkeness", they would rightly suggest. The presage of Cicero's famous "salus reipublicae suprema lex" is a perfect mirror reflecting events of the present-day-Ghana.The safety of any state depends upon independence of its judiciary - a branch which must be free from fear and intimidation. It is rather disturbing and hard to imagine that a nation which has given birth to a one time leader of a world body would subscribe to principles or behaviours, far contrary to ideals he championed and led to protect. We as a nation from all spectra of political beliefs shall not, in any way, tolerate or condone any assault on the judiciary either with intent to silence or intimidate judges over dispensation of justice.Governance is at its best when the exercise of power is guarded by the rule of law dispensed by untainted judiciary - a lesson yet to be taught.