Judiciary must rid itself of any apparent corruption, according to CenPOA

The Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness’s (CenPOA) Executive Director has urged the court to rid itself of any apparent corruption.

Michael Donyina Mensah asserts that it is the judiciary’s job to prevent this notion from coming to pass.

He said that in order to achieve that, they need to avoid doing anything that can reinforce such impressions.

He explained that it is advantageous for the court to provide speedy trials because it would help in speedily adjudicating cases so that parties concerned can have closure. He used the James Gyakye Quayson court case as an example.

The court’s recent decision to hear the Gyakye Quayson case every day, however, raises concerns and could lead to speculative thinking.

He questioned why GYakye Quayson’s case was chosen for accelerated proceedings above other cases that also needed to be heard quickly.

“We were surprised by the court’s choice to hear the matter every day. The court’s decision to come at this finding was exceptional. There is no explicit regulation requiring cases to be heard every day, with the exception of the presidential petition in 2020, which had a stringent requirement demanding an expedited hearing. Gyakye Quayson will likely be found guilty based on how the Attorney General is treating the matter, which will exclude him from standing for office.

“From our perspective, we think the daily sitting’s goal was for them to wrap up the case before the election,” he added. That implies that you have a plan to sabotage the by-election. It would not be a problem if the issue is unrelated to the by-election and follows its natural course if it is independent.

The judiciary is seen as crooked, he said in an interview with Kwabena Agyapong on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm’s Frontline. Getting rid of the perception is now their duty. The two major political parties (NDC and NPP) may decide one day that they would no longer utilise the court to settle election disputes but will instead turn to the streets when there is a political issue and they are unable to adjudicate the case equitably.

Michael Donyina Mensah underlined the requirement that the judiciary accept these viewpoints in good faith and refrain from letting the impression interfere with its ability to carry out its obligations of administering justice equitably.

We have politicised everything, which he recognised as one threat. Both parties have tried to take advantage of this, but the court must be exempt from political gamesmanship.

He also gave political parties advice on how to avoid criticising and embarrassing the court and how to let it go about its business without outside intervention.

“You have the option of filing an appeal if you go to court and are unhappy with the judge’s judgement or ruling. Therefore, I encourage politicians to utilise acceptable methods to address their difficulties, stop from embarrassing the court, and counsel themselves.