Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has blasted critics describing former President John Mahama's claims that the Judiciary is a mockery to the public as bastardizing the image of the Judiciary.
Mr. Mahama, addressing a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Lawyers’ Conference, called for a new Chief Justice to lead the Judiciary to repair its image.
“So badly has the image of our Judiciary deteriorated that many of our citizenry openly make mockery of our justice system and of our justices. The phrase ‘Go to Court’ is these days met with derisive laughter, instead of hope that one will truly get justice”.
“There is, therefore, the urgent need for the Ghanaian Judiciary to work to win the trust and confidence of the citizenry, and erase the widely held perception of hostility and political bias in legal proceedings at the highest courts of the land”.
“Unfortunately, we have no hope that the current leadership of our Judiciary can lead such a process of change. We can only hope, that a new Chief Justice will lead the process to repair the broken image that our Judiciary has acquired over the last few years,” he added.
Mr. Mahama's comments have been labeled as an attack on the Judiciary but Kwesi Pratt thinks otherwise.
Contributing to "Kokrokoo" panel discussion programme on Peace FM, Mr. Pratt argued that Mr. Mahama's remarks are acceptable as he like every human has the right to criticize the Judiciary when the person has his or her disagreements.
To him, there is nothing wrong with being biased, hence believed the former President's claims are "not an attack. It is allowed. It is part of the law".
"There is nothing existing that bias is not discernable. As humans as we are, sometimes bias is instigated through ethnicity. Sometimes through religious affiliations, a lot of things are basis of bias. So bias is a normal thing," he added.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
I just can't understand how Ghanaians look on and allow a few to create monsters in the political arena to destroy innocent people who are just doing their job under the circumstances in which they were born, not out of their ***barred word***. But the very people who contributed to the mess turn around to blame them, the innocents, by using dishonest journalists like Kwesi Pratt and their dishonest intellectuals. There is no political party in Ghana that has had more chances to manage the country and its economy than the NDC, yet they blame others more than themselves. The PNDC, the parent of the NDC, blamed the innocent three judges and executed them for doing their job. Today, a former President, produced by the NDC, is harassing a Chief Justice because the NDC failed to make a case for which it lacked the necessary evidence in court.
Mahama did the same, so he is not wrong just that this current Gov. has pass him. If possible, the law to appoint by the president should be changed to make the sector fully independent. Chief justice should be selected by the top judgers. This will make Judiciary work perfectly and reduce this selective justice.