Agyeman-Duah worried too about ‘unanimous’ Supreme Court

Former United Nations Senior Governance Advisor Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah says recent same-way thinking by justices of the Supreme Court presents a major challenge to the judicial system of Ghana.

“I do not believe that these justices should think the same way and should agree on the same thing all the time. That in itself will be a serious problem,” he stressed.

Prof Agyeman-Duah was speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 on Monday, August 29 in the wake of concerns raised by former President John Dramani Mahama that the image of the judiciary is badly damaged.

Mr Mahama, whose election petition in 2021 was unanimously dismissed by a Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah-led panel, raised concerns the judiciary has become a butt of many jokes due to the one-sided judgements often pronounced.

“Recently, 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 three-time flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said at a two-day conference of lawyers within his party.

“The phrase ‘Go to court’ is these days met with derisive laughter instead of hope that one will truly get justice if he went to the court.”

Prof Agyeman-Duah agreed that, previously, cases were split among justices of the Supreme Court based on strong and convincing arguments they shared.

But he said recent cases see a one-sided panel.

“If we take recent cases that has been the case but I think previously that has not been the case,” he observed.

“Probably, the weight of the recent cases were perhaps such that the justices could do nothing other than agree on this kind of cases.”

He also noted that all researches confirm that there is a challenge with not only the judiciary but all the arms of government and the earlier reforms are carried out the better for sustenance of the country’s democracy.

“I think the former president is right and I agree that if people lose confidence in the judiciary that represents a major challenge to our democracy but my point is that in our case it is not just the judiciary and there is nothing wrong with him making that statement.”