Kwasi Anin-Yeboah only applying laws, be fair to him – JUSAG replies Mahama

The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has chided Former President John Dramani Mahama over comments made against the judiciary, particularly Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah.

Alex Nartey, president of JUSAG, in an August 29 interview on Citi TV’s ‘Point of View’ programme stated that the political class was pushing a narrative that the judiciary was underdelivering on the expectations of Ghanaians – a view he does not share.

He explained that the Judiciary has at all times applied the laws of the country stressing that Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has not bent the rules on its head during his tenure.

He has, therefore, asked the former President to be fair with his criticism of the Chief Justice.

“The remarks, the statement creating the impression that our justice system, the Judiciary, is not living up to expectations is actually a concept that is being pushed by a political class and they are creating an impression as if it is the general position of the masses.

“I think that such a statement is not fair to the judiciary and with the greatest respect to His Excellency the former President, I think he must be fair to the Chief Justice. As a rule of law, what do you expect from the judiciary? What you expect from the judiciary is a decision by the judiciary. A decision that is taken based upon the laws that are made by the people…that is Parliament.

“The Chief Justice since he took office has only applied the laws of the land. Has not changed any of our procedures. He has not altered any of the laws based upon which these decisions are taken,” Alex Nartey emphasized.

Former President Mahama at a forum held for lawyers of the National Democratic Congress on August 28 lamented that the judiciary has a ‘broken image under the current leadership of the Chief Justice.

He said Ghanaians were fast losing trust in the judiciary owing to some of its unanimous decisions – a situation he explains as dangerous to the country’s democracy.

He stated that it will only take a new Chief Justice to chart a path of regaining public trust in the judiciary.

“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 a process to repair the broken image that our judiciary has acquired over the last few years,” Mahama submitted over the weekend.

Source: Ghanaweb.com