Former President John Mahama has stated on multiple occasions that the judicial system has a responsibility to provide the people with justice that is free from bias.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Mahama stated the following: "A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them; an electoral commission owes... a duty of care to the people to conduct free and fair elections; a police force should exist
"... a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring that they are included in the electoral process and not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration; an independent media owes it to the people to not only report facts without bias, but also to hold the government of the day accountable." "... a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring that they are included in the electoral process and not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration."
Earlier, Mr. Mahama suggested that the brand image of Ghana's judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, has been severely tarnished. Specifically, he was referring to the Supreme Court.
His point of view is that the people no longer believe they can achieve justice, which is one of the primary reasons why the public mocks the judicial system these days.
Mr. Mahama, whose election petition was unanimously dismissed by the highest court in the land after the general elections in 2020, hinted that the time has come for the judiciary to undergo self-cleansing, but he added that the current Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah cannot lead that process. Mr. Mahama's petition was rejected by the highest court in the land after the general elections in 2020.
On Sunday, August 28, he delivered these remarks when starting the 2nd Annual Lawyers Conference that was being hosted by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
"In recent years, the reputation of our judicial branch has suffered such severe damage that a significant portion of our population openly makes fun of our justice system and of our justices. These days, the word "go to court" is regarded with derisive laughter rather than the expectation that one will actually obtain justice if they go to the court rather than the hope that one will truly get justice if they go to the court.
If people are not making jokes about politics and inducements being used to sway the hand of justice in the lower courts, then they are making jokes and making statements about the 7:0 of the unanimous FC verdicts, which most often involve cases of a political nature in our Supreme Court. This is an unfortunate but serious development.
This is the security threat that the National Security apparatus tried to draw the attention of the nation to recently, but it was poorly received by the President and his party. It is one of the scariest existential threats to any democracy when citizens believe that their judiciary holds no value for them or is of no use to them. READ ALSO: The Supreme Court has established a precedent that could have dire consequences — Mahama
"It is frightening because it poses a threat to the peace and stability of our democracy, and we need to urgently rectify this misconception that is rapidly spreading. If precautions are not taken, we will reach a point when individuals will have no qualms about breaking the law on their own because they do not have faith that they will receive any justice through the system. If this occurs, we will be in a state of emergency.
Therefore, there is an immediate need for the Ghanaian judiciary to work toward winning the trust and confidence of the citizenry and erasing the widely-held perception of hostility and political bias in legal proceedings at the highest court in the land. "Therefore, there is the urgent need for the Ghanaian judiciary to work toward winning the trust and confidence of the citizenry."
"Unfortunately, we have little hope that the existing leadership of our judiciary can lead such a process of reform. Instead, we can only hope that the process to repair the damaged image that our judiciary has gained over the past few years will be led by the new Chief Justice."
—3news.com|Ghana
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