A private legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has said it is sad that the leadership of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) which was established by the Constitution of Ghana and historically known to be the champions of rule of law, accountability and social justice has reduced itself to “yet another useless institution of our democratic process in these days and times.”
Mr Sosu’s description of the GBA is in reaction to a statement released by the association condemning him for a statement he made against judges in the country.
The GBA in a statement had expressed disappointment in Mr Sosu for describing some judges as political judges and implying that their tenure is tied to the tenure of political regime under which they are appointed, and further that “political judges will be treated politically”.
The GBA said they find the assertion by Mr Sosu very “unprofessional, unfortunate, irresponsible and distasteful and same smacks of deep-seated, ignorance,” as the tenure of judges per the constitution and other relevant laws, is never in any way whatsoever tied to the tenure of the political regime under which judges are appointed.
Reacting to the GBA’s statement, Mr Sosu in a counter statement said “I stand by my statement any day, any time.”
He said his statement was a conditional statement and no amounts of twists and turns will extricate judicial officers and judges who would allow themselves to become agents of political partisan agenda.
According to the Madina lawmaker, the leadership of the GBA have sought to create a false impression by “their misguided release asserting that judges would lose their jobs when the party that appointed them loses power.” “This rather reflects the leadership’s misunderstanding of the statement I made,” he noted.
Explaining what he meant by “if you are a political judge, you will be dealt with politically…” he said “judges owe a duty to the constitution of Ghana and the laws of Ghana. If a judge allows him or herself to become an agent of political party, the tenure of the said judge will run with the political parties they favour.”
He said instead of the GBA to join the clarion call to stop judges from becoming political judges in order to guarantee Ghana’s democracy, the leadership of the GBA is rather “needlessly attacking the voice of conscience that speaks truth though it hurts badly.”
Find below Mr Sosu’s response to the GBA:
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