Tsatsu Tsikata Deserves Justice
By David Atugiya
Feature Article | Sun, 27 Jul 2008
Feature Article | Sun, 27 Jul 2008
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The continuous incarceration of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata is a disturbing phenomenon and an affront to justice. Before I advance my argument further, let me make it abundantly clear that the issues raised in this piece are not about whether or not Mr Tsikata was or is guilty or innocent of the offences for which he was sentence to 5 years in prison on 18 June 2008. The guiltiness or innocence of Mr Tsikata is something I will prefer to leave to my legal friends and the courts to determine.
As a human rights and social justice campaigner 1 am seriously concern about the way the justice system in Ghana sometimes work. I have followed the case of Mr Tsikata keenly over the last 6 year in the Fast Track Court presided over by Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban; and the furore that followed the judgement and the sentence that was handed down; and strongly believe Tsatsu Tsikata deserves justice.
Any right thinking person with a conscience, without sounding offensive to anyone reading this article will frown upon the hastiness with which the trial judge Mrs Justice Abban delivered her verdict and sentence to Mr Tsikata.
Mr Tsikata, whether a legal guru or not, a President of Ghana or not has a fundamental right to a fair trial and that include exploring or exploiting all the options available to him in his defence in a case of which he has been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and misappropriating public property. The argument advanced by the trial judge and some legal minds that Tsatsu was abusing the court process and hence the hastiness of judgement, smacks of justice and abuse of power. The trial judge in her summing up (I stand corrected) did not indicate or illustrate instances of Mr Tsikata's abuse of court process. Mr Tsikata was merely exercising his legal rights as enshrine in the constitution and therefore his hopping from one court to another in seeking justice cannot be misinterpreted as unnecessarily spinning the court process.
What really sent cold through my spine or tipped me to the edge of the Ghanaian judicial system and the injustice I felt and continue to feel in Tiskata's case, was with the trial judge's decision not to have adjourned proceedings but proceeded to deliver judgment when Tsikata's counsel was not in court. I have served in the jury and also observed serious criminal cases in courts in the UK and have never seen such a bazaar twist to legal or court proceeding like this. The trial proceedings on 18 June 2008 was not only grossly unfair, a disgrace to the Judiciary and the legal profession but also an infringement upon Tsikata's fundamental human rights. Justice therefore in the case of Tsatsu was not seen to be done. Ghana and Tsatsu Tsikata deserves better from our Judiciary.
As a human rights and social justice campaigner 1 am seriously concern about the way the justice system in Ghana sometimes work. I have followed the case of Mr Tsikata keenly over the last 6 year in the Fast Track Court presided over by Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban; and the furore that followed the judgement and the sentence that was handed down; and strongly believe Tsatsu Tsikata deserves justice.
Any right thinking person with a conscience, without sounding offensive to anyone reading this article will frown upon the hastiness with which the trial judge Mrs Justice Abban delivered her verdict and sentence to Mr Tsikata.
Mr Tsikata, whether a legal guru or not, a President of Ghana or not has a fundamental right to a fair trial and that include exploring or exploiting all the options available to him in his defence in a case of which he has been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and misappropriating public property. The argument advanced by the trial judge and some legal minds that Tsatsu was abusing the court process and hence the hastiness of judgement, smacks of justice and abuse of power. The trial judge in her summing up (I stand corrected) did not indicate or illustrate instances of Mr Tsikata's abuse of court process. Mr Tsikata was merely exercising his legal rights as enshrine in the constitution and therefore his hopping from one court to another in seeking justice cannot be misinterpreted as unnecessarily spinning the court process.
What really sent cold through my spine or tipped me to the edge of the Ghanaian judicial system and the injustice I felt and continue to feel in Tiskata's case, was with the trial judge's decision not to have adjourned proceedings but proceeded to deliver judgment when Tsikata's counsel was not in court. I have served in the jury and also observed serious criminal cases in courts in the UK and have never seen such a bazaar twist to legal or court proceeding like this. The trial proceedings on 18 June 2008 was not only grossly unfair, a disgrace to the Judiciary and the legal profession but also an infringement upon Tsikata's fundamental human rights. Justice therefore in the case of Tsatsu was not seen to be done. Ghana and Tsatsu Tsikata deserves better from our Judiciary.
David Atugiya
Chairman of UK Ghana Human Rights Committee
Source: David AtugiyaChairman of UK Ghana Human Rights Committee
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Comments To This Article
2 readers have commented so far on this story. And below this page is a sample of the latest comments published. Or you can also click view all to read all comments that readers have sent in.
Tsatsu Tsikata Deserves Justice
Kofi | London-UK (United Kingdom) | 7/27/2008 11:03:00 AM
I totally disagree with the writer, Atiguba. He admits that the case had gone on for the past 6 yrs and all legal opportunities were availlable for him to explore. The said day 18th, June 2008 was the jugdement day. To further twist the legal process in his favour, the counsel of Tsatsu chose to travel out of the country. Now, the colorally is that, should the judgement had gone in Tsatsu's favour, would Atiguba have come out to tell us this? Would the absence of Tsatsu's counsel been a problem for Atiguba?
Again, the argument that the trial justice should have waited for the Supreme Court decision on petition filed by Tsatsu is not tenable. Tsatsu, claiming to be one of the legal luminaries in Ghana, did not know that after petioning the Supreme Court he should have prayed the Court to restrain the lower court to stay execution of any kind or form until the decision of the Supreme Court. He never did, and the court wont tell you what to do but only consider the petition before it at its convenient time.
Listen and take a lesson from here that, if somebody trespasses your land and starts to develop the land. You may take the person to court, the courts will entertain your suit. However, the trespasser may continue to develop the land unless you prayed the court to put injunction upon any development on the land in the suit. If you refused to do that and development went on pari-pasu, the suit, if judgement goes in your favour, know that the trespasser deserves to be compensated for any development made after the suit in court.
Tsatsu Tsikata Deserves Justice
kojo mensah | London-UK (United Kingdom) | 7/28/2008 2:24:00 PM
You have completly missed the point made by David. Simply go back read the article any you would appreciate the writer's view point. Court processes or proceedings must be followed deligently no matter what. This is the trush of David's arguement.
