Manipulations of the Justice System

…THE CASE OF NANA DARKWA

The arrest, remand and bail within 24 hours of Nana Darkwa Baafi, the person who claimed that Former president Rawlings burnt down his residence has the hallmarks of the manipulation of the Judicial system. Legal experts with knowledge of the processes and the rules that must be followed by the Judiciary are convinced that Nana Darkwa’s judicial feat could not have been possible without the complicity of the Chief Justice and the Attorney General, and possibly many others.

For Nana Darkwa Baafi’s case, it is reported that In this case, Nana Baafi’s lawyers put in a verbal application for bail which the circuit court judge refused, thereby remanding the accused. To be granted bail after being remanded, the process requires Baafi’s lawyers to file a written application for bail at the Court Registry. The notice must be processed by the Jucial service and served on the other party, which is the Attorney General. The AG must be given at least two clear days to prepare and appear in court for a hearing.

In Baafi’s case, the entire processes including the AG’s two days to prepare and the sending of the case to a higher court happened on the afternoon of the same day the gentleman was remanded. And the AG and Minister of Justice does not see that the rights she is expected to exercise on behalf of the taxpayer were not respected enough. She allowed the bail application to be heard with no objection. The AG and her appointing authority, President Mills, must provide an explanation what happened to Ghanaians if we are not to feel that they cannot be trusted to defend our interest. Clearly, the Attorney General waived the rights of her office, and does not see anything unusual about it or out of place. At the minimum, this raises issues of competence on the part of the AG. But on a more serious note, it indicates that the AG and Minister of Justice is accepting preferential treatment for some. She thinks it is alright to ignore laid down judicial procedures and break rules that must be applied equally to ensure that Ghanaians are treated equal before the law.

It is apparent that our judicial process is susceptible to manipulation to satisfy the whims of the privileged, the well connected and the powerful in the society, especially politicians in power. It must be remembered that Nana Darkwa’s arrest ignited the venom of the NPP Minority and their boycott of Parliament.

Nana Darkwa’s case is not the first case that creates the impression that our judicial service and the verdict it gives, are sometimes tailored to fulfill the wishes of those in power and their friends. A similar thing happened in the case involving the Managing Director of Trassaco Valley who was convicted and goaled for contempt. That same day, an appeal panel was set up, sat, and presto! He was discharged. The broader implications are that our judicial system can be manipulated for partisan or personal interest. In fact it is an open secret that the NDC is not sure that justice will be done if they pursue some of the dockets they have because the Kufuor government managed to fill the courts with judges whose verdict will be tailored to further the interest of the NPP. But in the face of this, what steps is the Mills administration taking?

The elite must know that if they cannot operate the system, which is structured to protect their interest, in a way that is seen to be fair, they would have themselves to blame if the majority, who happens to be victims of their greedy rule decide to institute their own justice.