NDC's case scheduling bias allegation is 'unwarranted' — Godfred Dame

The Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame has strongly refuted allegations suggesting a lack of engagement in legal challenges against the constitutionality of the Sexual Human Rights and Family Values Bill.

His response follows accusations by the NDC regarding the Supreme Court's decision to prioritise the trial in South Dayi MP Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor's application against the approval of ministerial nominees over the case against the anti-LGBTQ Bill filed earlier by Richard Sky, which is still pending.

Mr Dafeamekpor’s case was dismissed.
Hours before the court's decision, the NDC raised concerns over perceived judicial bias in the prioritisation of political cases by the Supreme Court.

The party criticised the Chief Justice's decision to give precedence to Mr Dafeamekpor's case over Mr Sky's.

According to the NDC, Mr Sky's case challenging the constitutionality of the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024, filed two weeks before Mr Dafeamekpor’s case questioning recent ministerial nominations, should have been heard first.

Despite this timeline, the court scheduled to hear Mr Dafeamekpor’s case first.

In a statement, NDC's General Secretary, Mr Fifi Kwetey, argued that the scheduling undermines judicial independence and suggests bias towards the government.

Mr Kwetey alleged that the delay in hearing Sky's case is a deliberate move by the Chief Justice to stall the anti-gay bill.

The NDC accused the Chief Justice of manipulating case scheduling to favour the government, reinforcing public perceptions of judicial bias.

“Given the recent political deadlock that these two legal suits have created between the executive arm and the legislative arm of government, one would have expected that the date of filing of the cases would have informed the timing of their hearing by the apex court", Mr Kwetey argued.

Yet, he noted, "for some strange reasons, the case of Hon. Rockson Dafeamekpor, which was last in time to be filed, has been hurriedly listed for hearing, while that of Richard Dela Sky, which predated the Dafeamekpor case by two weeks, has not been listed for hearing at all".

"This is in spite of the fact that no application for abridgement of time has been filed by any of the parties in the Dafeamekpor case,” Mr Kwetey pointed out.

In the view of the biggest opposition party, “It’s quite apparent that this is a ploy by the Chief Justice to fast-track the determination of the suit filed by Hon. Rockson Dafeamekpor while the determination of the Richard Dela Sky suit is deliberately and unduly delayed, to enable the President to shelve the crucial Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill that has been passed by Parliament."

“The arbitrary exercise of administrative discretion by the Chief Justice, particularly in the scheduling of cases in the Supreme Court, goes to fortify the high perception of bias on the part of the judiciary. Such judicial manipulations go to confirm the growing public perception that the current Chief Justice is a pliant accomplice and abettor of the misrule of the despotic Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government,” the NDC observed.

Speaking to journalists in Accra regarding the Supreme Court's decision, the Attorney General dismissed criticisms of bias as unfounded and lacking merit.

He emphasised proactive steps taken by his office, including filing an affidavit in response to the matter at hand, indicating active engagement in legal proceedings.

"We have filed an affidavit in that matter. So, I think all these comments are unwarranted and, indeed, are baseless. We actually filed an affidavit to answer in the Richard Sky matter before this one," he asserted.

—Classfmonline