Political Judges, Paranoid President

“Foul whisperings are abroad: unnatural deeds Do breed unnatural troubles: infected winds. To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets … I think but dare not speak” - Doctor: Macbeth Act V

We were not too young when Jerry John Rawlings staged the coup of 31st December, 1981 to overthrow Dr Hilla Limann's People's National Party government. Later rumours revealed that Dr Limann received daily “foul whisperings” (intelligence reports) but dismissed them all, saying: “Gyato, wonntumi nnye hwee” (The mulatto cannot do anything). As a great academician, Limann had disregarded Tacitus's account that “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” in AD 64. One could disregard the argument that the viol class of instruments (among which was the fiddle) had not developed till the 11th century. Perhaps Nero was playing the “cithara” not a “fiddle”.

There are rather far too many “foul whisperings” in Ghana now, and one cannot understand why Ghanaians, including lawyers and journalists have joined the fray in making all these “ugly noises” and making the country heat up.

Article 3 of the 1992 Constitution states in Clause 2: “Any activity of a person or group of persons which suppresses or seeks to suppress the lawful political activity of any other person or any class of persons generally is unlawful. Clause 3 states: “Any person who by himself or in concert with others by any violent or other unlawful means suspends or overthrows or abrogates this Constitution or any part of it, or attempts to do any such act, or aids and abets in any manner any person referred to in paragraph (a) of this Constitution shall suffer death. Clause 4 adds: “all citizens of Ghana shall have the right and duty at all times to defend the constitution and in particular, to resist any person or group of persons seeking to commit any of the acts referred to in Clause 3 of this article …” And clause 5 states: “Any person or group of persons who suppresses or resists the suspension, overthrow or abrogation of this Constitution as referred to in Clause 3 of this Constitution, commits no offence.”

Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, the Lead Convener of the #FixTheCountry movement was remanded into police custody for two weeks on a charge of treason felony when he appeared before the Ashaiman District Court which was presided over by Mrs. Eleanor Kakra Barnes Botchway. And we want to believe that the lead counsel for Vormawor, Akoto-Ampaw, a seasoned lawyer, would appreciate the position of the District Court which is seized with power for committal and not the power to grant bail in an indictable case.

Vormawor, a Ghanaian lawyer, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge had the uncharitable audacity to state in one of his posts in the social media: “If this E-levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will do the coup myself. Useless army”. On another post, he wrote: “Okay, let's try again. If this E-levy still passes after this cake bullshit, then may God … Help us to resist oppressor's rule. With all our will and might forever more. Useless Army. Anaa, the value is the same?”

During the “Yenntua” demonstration against the E-levy, Francis Xavier Sosu, MP for Madina had remarked: “What it means is that when you become partisan as a judge remember that your tenure of office as a judge will run with the political party that you favour. Let that be clear because political power is very transient, positions are not possessions, so people will come, people will go.”

The Ghana Bar Association, in a release signed by its National President, Yaw Boafo, Esq and National Secretary, Kwaku Gyan Baffour roundly condemned this statement by Sosu, saying, “ It is reckless for anybody to give the slightest suggestion that the tenure of judges is linked to the tenure of the political regimes under which judges are appointed.” The statement added that, “The Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules 2020 (L1 2423) forbids a lawyer from making a statement about judicial and legal officials which the lawyer knows to be false …”

The statement continued: “The GBA takes a dim view of the very unprofessional conduct of Francis Xavier Sosu, Esq and deems same as an unwarranted, unnecessary and unjustified attack on judges. These unwarranted and unnecessary attacks on judges have a high propensity of creating disaffection and ill-will for judges and for that matter the judiciary.” The statement reminded Sosu that the tenure of office of Justices of the Superior Courts are provided for in Articles 144, 145 and 146 of the 1992 Constitution, particularly Article 146 “ A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Public Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour…”

The GBA admonished lawyers to be guided by Ghana's history: “It was similar irresponsible utterances in the past by people who ought to know better that resulted in the abduction and gruesome murder of the three High Court Justice”. The busts of Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Justice Cecilia Koranteng Addow and Justice Kwadwo Adjei Agyapong are in the forecourt of the Supreme Court Building.

The annual celebrations of Martyrs' Day are a sad reminder to Ghanaians: “Never again…” In a swift twist, Sosu has fired back at the GBA: “It is a wonder to know that the Ghana Bar Association still exists in this country following your loud silence on critical matters of national concern which relate to the Bar, Legal Education, Mistreatment of lawyers, Lack of welfare for lawyers, Human Right Abuses, press freedom and justice delivery among others in Ghana … If you are a political judge you will be dealt with politically…”

And Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe on a TV3 panel (15/02/22) would describe the president as being “paranoid”. “Paranoid” is (loosely translated) the feeling of threat of harm when it does not exist. A person may have “paranoid delusions” or be “paranoid schizophrenic” which are close to “mental problems”. But we daresay that it is safer to be “paranoid” than to be “pronoic”, an adjective of the term “pronoia” which is the opposite of paranoia.

John Hughes does well for exposing the deprivations among the teachers of Afram Plains who have to hang their phones on a huge tree to receive calls, We are tickled that the problem had existed from 1984! And Murtala Mohammed says, in Tamale Central, he got “flabbergasted” to find students lying on their stomachs to learn. To Tamakloe's question: “What kind of Republic is this?” we say it is a Republic that NPP took over from NDC!

The NDC has criticized the NPP government of arresting journalists in order to muzzle them, especially over the E-levy. They mention Captain Smart (arrested for alleged extortion). Oheneba Boamah (for contempt) and Bobie Ansah (for calling First Lady Rebecca a 'thief' for stealing state land at KIA).

Kwame Bafo (Abronye) may not be the toast of everyone, but many are asking why he should be detained by the police who had asked him to report at 4pm yesterday but he had elected to report at 1pm. Was it done for equalization?

Remember what caused the Rwandan genocide that left almost 1 million Rwandans dead? Leon Mugesera had called the minority Tsutsis cockroaches who should go back to Ethiopia, their place of birth. Freedom of speech; human rights, individual liberties…

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From Africanus Owusu-Ansah