Ghana Bar Association By-Laws Cannot Be A Firewall Against The Mighty Laws Of Ghana In Chief Justice Torkornoo's Case

Which Ghanaian electorates listened to the manifesto of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and voted for them to have a mandate and audacity to denigrate the sense of Judgement of a 57 percent (57%) valid cast voted for, with a two-third majority shielded excellency of a president?

With all due respect to its members in disagreement with their recent statement or communique that in a way, sort of portray the president of Ghana, as one who cannot think for himself without their (GBA) opinions. An opinion that is yet to find a provision in the constitution that backs it.

Who gave the GBA the title of ‘constitutional interpreters’ knowledgeable enough to understand Ghana’s constitution better than the framers of the constitution when they as a body boycotted the drafting of the constitution? Where were they when their opinions were needed the most, when even market women and local farmers were upbeat about giving a nation a constitution to demonstrate their love for democracy?

Gone are the days when by the mention of the Judicial Service and the Ghana Bar Association every law abiding and law loving citizen freely lend their ears to listen to the wisdom that definitely will diffuse from any verbal or written statement coming from that group irrespective of the political ideology or affiliation they are characterized with, for as it is said in our local parlance, they did not write or talk by-heart!

There was utmost respect to every letter and spirit of the constitution with unnegotiable easy flow of respect for seniority in the bar. The presidency and the constitutional mandates given to the president was seen as a sacred and solemn one at the same time, to the point they will go all out to ensure the constitutional provisions governing the actions of the president and the power vested in him by the people of Ghana and not the Judiciary or GBA only, which of course includes them, is not diluted, mutilated or disrespected by anybody.

Those actions succeeded in becoming an effective repellant and to some extent an antidote to the then prevalent continuous encroachment of the military in democratic governance. The military however, found a way to convince the citizenry that not all those who wore the judicial wigs have the nation at heart to deserve or earn the title of a Justice. Some metered injustices to the ordinary people, especially the less privileged leading to some dark days in the history of Ghana.

Many of those Judges understood fairness and the value of freedom and justice in the lives of a people with one destiny irrespective of some insignificant differences they periodically exhibit.

These humane lawyers of the past (some still exist though) then did not leave their conscience home and visited the Law Courts with the hope of receiving favor readily or in the future from a Judge or the Executive branch of government just because their judicial wigs were partly sewn with a partisan yarn underneath the bright and famous color of the wig.

One is tempted to ask, with all due respect to the fine and ‘no-nonsense’ Apex Court Justices, whether the wig of some Commonwealth African Supreme Court Justices is uniquely woven in a way that makes it difficult to dissociate itself from the colonial fabric. Or it is probably designed to warm the heads of African Judges, many of whose heads are already not only warm but hot in our tropical jurisdiction coupled with the many problems we have to overcome, to make them not be fair in delivering judgements and sentencing, for some of the judgements and sentencing are mind blowing.

Out of some uneasiness brought forth by the partisan yarn to keep an already hot head hotter, seem to be inducing some behaviours including seeing some of the Judges beginning to shout at and shut down lawyers advancing their cases before them, even on live telecasted cases to the point of calling them and their clients derogatory names in some instance.

The citizens elect the President and Parliamentarians to serve them within the confines of the laws of Ghana. The Judiciary is to ensure that the election of the President and all Parliamentarians by the people of Ghana are done without breaking the laws.

No citizen of Ghana votes to elect a Chief Justice. However, by virtue of voting to elect the President and Parliamentarians who in turn appoint and approve the Chief Justice respectively, the citizens indirectly through their electoral mandate given to the President and Parliamentarians can be said to appoint the Chief Justice.

And today, over 50 percent of Ghanaians per Global InfoAnalytics’ recent polls are saying they prefer the Chief Justice is removed to her staying if she is found guilty. Their call is backed by what the constitution dictates, for which the president has not faulted anywhere.

Maybe the GBA must begin to critically look at their actions and tell us whether they are out to protect the sanctity of the Constitution and the Judiciary or they have resolved to cover up the alleged ills of the suspended Chief Justice and protect her as a person dear to them.

For to come out with a near perfect statement to the admiration of the public only to quickly come back and muddy their statement with one that has left some asking if indeed it is from the GBA of old that everyone knew, or a ‘partisan constituency’ GBA?

Painfully, when another woman equally of the law fraternity in the person of Ms. Charlotte Osei was in 2017 put under the same Article 146 microscope, their litmus test was one that probably saw her as a less deserving human and woman not worth releasing a statement in support of. When even the petitioner's identities in her case, were shrouded in some bizarre circumstance. She did not have the luxury of being fed a copy of the petition against her beforehand to respond to, as was in the case of the suspended Chief Justice, did she?

Do they want President John Mahama to commit a political and constitutional suicide by bringing the CJ back from suspension when the allegations in the petitions have not been fully investigated by the 5-member committee?

Will they not awaken their once upon a time ‘incompetent’ tag falsely slapped on President Mahama, this time for not thinking through before suspending the Chief Justice in the first place if President Mahama was to rescind his suspension decision?

The GBA must not allow some members of theirs whose main aim is to see a particular person clinching to a position at all cost to fool them, especially at the expense of what the constitution clearly spells out to be done to cleanse that position if any alleged misbehavior is reported by a citizen of the land to the president to look into it.

Are the current leadership of the GBA knowledgeable and experienced than some of the prominent members of the Council of State, such as retired Justice Sophia Akuffo, retired Justice Vida Amankwanua Akoto-Bamfo, former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Korbly Doe Adjaho, former Attorney General, Mrs.Betty Mould Iddrisu, retired Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, retired Chief of Defense Staff, Air Marshal Michael Samson Oje, and the many eminent chiefs and business men and women not listed here?

What audacity to tell the acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie how he should assign Judges to cases after his brilliant directive that all cases must come to him for a date and Judge assignment for the time being? Did they have the nerves to dictate the same to the suspended Justice Torkornoo?

The GBA are not being fair to Ghanaians and are not by this action of theirs portraying that they are striving to ensure justice for all people. This began with their discriminatory stance when it was Charlotte Osei, but now appears to love equity when it is suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo being subjected to the same article 146 process for some alleged misbehavior.

So, the GBA wants President Mahama to wake up one morning to proclaim that he has reinstated the CJ without giving any legal ground, pretend there is nothing to investigate, disrespect the Council of State members and disappoint the vast majority of Ghanaians? This they want the president to do just because GBA says so, though not grounded in any law?

Do they want President John Mahama to commit a political and constitutional suicide by bringing the CJ back from suspension when the allegations in the petitions have not been fully investigated by the 5-member committee?

Will they not awaken their once upon a time ‘incompetent’ tag falsely slapped on President Mahama, this time for not thinking through before suspending the Chief Justice in the first place?

What if the GBA and the NPP later decide to release another statement instigating the CJ or any citizen to sue the president for suspending the CJ in the first place? This has been the modus operandi of NPP, especially in recent times. Ken Ofori Atta, the former finance minister and Adu Boahen, the former National Signal Bureau (NSB) director are telling us today they are suing the OSP and Attorney General respectively, after they have been accused of corruption.

President Mahama must assure the GBA that he will not adhere to their opinions since it is not grounded in law, and warn them to desist from interfering with matters under investigations. If they have any opinion or constitutional amendment proposals to table, the office of the constitutional review committee is there to accept the proposals warmly. In fact, Ms. Charlotte Osei will be at the door to welcome them.

It is up to the GBA to continue exercising their right to express themselves candidly be it based on the law or as a figment of their imagination. But they must never assume the position of a group ordained to think for the president or be those endowed with all the legal knowledge to determine what the president must say or do, for they are not. The president is of a sound mind and knows where to seek advice from when he needs it, and it is his prerogative.

Whoever breaks the law must face the law as in the words of the suspended Chief Justice, “ the law is the law”. The president must not listen to the noises out there while following due process. He must do his constitutionally mandated job. Period!

For whatever is the motives behind the ‘partisan-leaning’ members of the GBA releasing the statement calling for the President to withdraw the suspension of Justice Getrude Torkornoo, what they must be schooled to know is that their By-laws cannot build a Firewall to absorb Justice Torkornoo or any other Ghanaian ills or crime from the punishment of the mighty laws of Ghana if found guilty.

I rest my PEN.
Mustapha Alhassan
Pennsylvania, USA.