Leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Hassan Ayariga has disclosed that members of judiciary are not above reproach.
According to him the notion that judges cannot be criticized when they err is a bogus one because no one is above the law.
In an interview on Oyerepa FM, he said some judges think they are bigger than institutions.
“Nobody is above the law, not even the president. The judiciary is not above the law; they should stop thinking they are above it. Who gave them the power?” He questioned.
According to him, some judges in the country give rulings based on their emotions.
Many of the judges in Ghana rule on their emotions. That is the truth. The judiciary, you believe, protects those it believes should be protected and those it believes should not be protected.
He fumed, “The judiciary doesn’t have the power to drag anybody to court when they criticize them. They can go to court, but they can’t order you to come. When I criticize you as a judge, you send me to court, but you don’t sit there and order me to come.”
He explained that criticizing a judge is different from contempt of court.
“When there is a matter before the court and you talk about the matter, that is contempt. But not when you criticise the judge as a person. They are abusing power”, he added.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has also, in recent times, criticized what he perceives as a bias of the courts towards opposition parties.
Addressing lawyers of the National Democratic Congress last month, former President Mahama said public confidence in the judiciary had eroded.
He said people mocked the phrase ‘go to court’ as a result of the gradual bias that has been ascribed to the bench.
Mahama said it will only take a new Chief Justice to charter a path of restoring public confidence in the third arm of government as it attempts to repair it ‘broken image’.
Pulse
