Mahama should be the last person running down the judiciary – Kwabena Agyepong

Former General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyepong, has expressed his discontentment against former President John Dramani Mahama’s criticism of the judiciary.

According to him, such criticisms do not bode well for the judiciary which ought to be supported like any other institution.

Speaking in an interview with Accra-based

Read full articleJoy News on October 6, Kwabena Agyepong said he was disappointed in the comments by former President Mahama especially when he has been at the helm of the country’s affairs and should appreciate what it means to support the judiciary.

Although he admits that judges are prone to imperfections like everyone else, he said leaders must endeavour to be supportive of them.

Kwabenya Agyepong was responding to a question on concerns raised by Justice Jones Dotse that attacks on the judiciary can lead to how three High Court judges were gruesomely murdered in 1982.

“What surprised me was the one who really attacked the judges. That’s former President Mahama who I know very well, a good friend of mine. I was surprised because he has been president before. He has occupied the highest seat in government therefore you know what it takes to support the judiciary.

“And so for him to come out and say the kinds of thing that he said, I find it was a downer. It was disappointing. You don’t need to do that. Whatever the shortcomings…I’m not saying the judges are perfect. They are not perfect. All of us are not perfect.

“We the leaders are the ones to provide the maximum support and having been in the seat as Chief Executive of state and the first gentleman of the land, I think he should be the last person to be running down a critical institution like the judiciary,” he said.

The NPP flagbearer hopeful added that even though Mahama may have made the comment in the spur of the moment, political leaders should be circumspect in their utterances.

He stated that this was because the younger generation in society looked up to the political leaders thus comments from them should engender confidence and inspiration.

“Every comment that we make as political leaders has to be measured especially to infuse confidence and inspiration for the younger generation. They are looking on to us. That’s why I have always advocated against the insults that are dominating the media space,” Kwabena Agyepong mentioned.

TWI NEWS

Background

In recent times, Former President John Dramani Mahama has had the course to express concern over a decline in public confidence in the judiciary.

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 said at a forum held for lawyers of the NDC on August 28.

Attorney General Godfred Dame described the comments by Mahama as deplorable, coming from someone who has been a former president.

Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below:



DS/PEN