The Gavel’s Conspiracy

A Dialogue Poem in Shadows
Bagbin (Speaker of Parliament):
You wore the robe, but did you rule?
Or were you just another pawn, a tool?
In Afenyo’s case, you moved with speed,

But SALL waited years to plead.
Justice delayed, justice denied,
Yet for him, the doors swung wide.
Torkornoo (Chief Justice):
I judged by law, not by command,
But power shifts like desert sand.
The Constitution was my shield and sword,
Yet now I stand before a silent horde.
Tsikata (Lawyer):
"It is a matter of great regret," I said,

"That justice bends where it should tread."

"You cannot criminalize conduct retroactively and call it justice."

"That is not law, it is vengeance dressed in robes."

"And when a new Justice is appointed mid-case and tips the balance,

The scales of justice are no longer blind, they are bought."

Bagbin:
Four seats I struck with lawful hand,
But your bench reversed what I had planned.
You dared to silence Parliament’s voice.

Now you must live with that choice.
Torkornoo:
Interpretation is no simple art,
Each clause a puzzle, each word a part.
But I see now how trust was strained,
And how the bench’s silence pained.
Tsikata:
"I was summoned in the name of the President,"

"To a court whose birth was precedent."

"And when the law was reversed by force,

The Constitution lost its course."
"I taught all seven of you," I reminded the bench,

"But today I stand not as your lecturer,

I stand as a citizen demanding fairness."

"Will you rule by law or by loyalty?"
Bagbin:
And so I rose, with gavel cold,
To end the farce, the lies, the hold.
"In view of the current circumstances," I said,

"And the question of Parliament’s thread,

I adjourn this House sine die."
Let the Court explain why justice must die.
Torkornoo:
You plotted this behind closed doors,
With whispers echoing through legal floors.
But history will judge you too,
For what you broke, not what you knew.
Tsikata:
"Respectfully, Black’s Law Dictionary doesn’t bind the people of Ghana."

"What binds us is the Evidence Act."
"You quote foreign texts to silence truth,

But our statutes speak with Ghanaian proof."

"When judges shield officials from scrutiny’s light,

They betray the people’s democratic right."

Bagbin:
We watched, we waited, we drew the line,
And now your robe no longer shines.
You lost the people, lost the court
And now you face the final report.
Torkornoo:
You speak of law, but wield the blade,
A gavel masked in coup parade.
Yet I stood firm, though winds did howl,
And bore the scars beneath the cowl.
Tsikata (closing):
"For they have sown the wind," I said,
"And they shall reap the whirlwind" , dread.

Let conscience guide each judicial oath,
Not fear, nor favor, nor party’s growth.