Can 'Antoa Nyamaa' review judicial decisions?

Ever since former President Rawlings dared his political opponents to take him to “Antoa Nyamaa”, the powerful Ashanti river deity, over certain allegations that were made against him, it has become a mantra within political circles to resort to the invocation of the deity, whenever one finds himself in trouble.

People have lost confidence in the judicial system, and are resorting to the deity, under the least provocation.

Some few years ago, when Ghana's High Commissioner to Malaysia, Mr. Dan Abodakpi, was jailed for eight years by a court of competent jurisdiction, over certain roles he played in the Rawlings' administration, the people of Keta, where he was then serving as a Member of Parliament (MP), invoked all kinds of gods in Anloland against then President Kufuor and his government, for sending their son to jail. They did not see the need to use the judicial system to overturn the verdict.

Since the gods did not succeed in bringing Abodakpi out of prison, one would have thought that the best way to protest against judicial decisions was to appeal for a review, but politicians have still not learnt their lessons.

A story we have carried at page 14 of today's edition reveals that supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Akwatia constituency of the Eastern Region, and the family of the constituency's Youth Organiser, one Kojo Owusu, have threatened to invoke the river god, 'Antoa Nyamaa', against a Magistrate and some top government officials, for sentencing their colleague and brother to a prison term of three months, for causing harm.

According to the story, Kojo Owusu was jailed after being found guilty of inflicting wounds on the complainant in the case, one Yaw Darkwa, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) activist at Akwatia.

To them, the trial was politically motivated, hence their decision to resort to the river deity, if President Mills does not intervene to reverse the decision.

Ghana is a secular state, therefore, we do not begrudge those who have faith in deities.

But, like the Abodakpi case, since river gods do not have the power to review or cancel judicial decisions, the best way was to use the same judicial process to overturn such decisions.

Recently, when an Accra circuit court put Nana Darkwa Barfi, an NPP radio panelist, on a two weeks remand, it was the same judicial process that his lawyers used to get him bail at the High Court.

Nana Darkwa did not turn to 'Antoa Nyamaa' for succor.

The Chronicle is, therefore, advising NPP sympathisers at Akwatia, and the family of the jailed youth leader, to consult their lawyers to file the necessary papers for the decision of the court to be reviewed, if they feel they have a strong case. Calling a news conference to invoke deities against judges and political opponents would not solve the situation.

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