The chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee has expressed disappointment over remarks made by retired Supreme Court Justice William Atuguba, who questioned the party’s moral right to criticise the empaneling process at the Supreme Court.
According to Frank Davies, Justice Atuguba should remain quiet in retirement and refrain from engaging in public commentary that, he argues, undermines the judiciary.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on Wednesday, May 7, Mr Davies stated that Justice Atuguba’s choice of words on the judiciary was unbecoming of someone who once served on the nation’s highest court.
“Justice Atuguba, don’t do this. He is now telling us that the Supreme Court is politicised. That is his language,” he said.
“The language Justice Atuguba uses on radio, ‘rubbish’ and all that, for a Justice of the Supreme Court – I hold him in high regard. I have sat on the general legal council with him for so many years, and I have learned so much from him. I will rather pray that Justice Atuguba will stop these commentaries.”
The NPP’s Legal Affairs Committee chair comments follow Justice Atuguba’s criticism of the opposition NPP over its handling of the suspension of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Justice Atuguba dismissed the NPP’s response as ‘rubbish’, stating that their posture merely serves to advance their narrative.
The Supreme Court, in a narrow 3–2 ruling delivered on Tuesday, dismissed a case brought by the MP for Old Tafo, Ekow Vincent Assafuah. The case challenged the President’s decision to suspend and initiate removal proceedings against the Chief Justice, following petitions alleging misconduct.
According to Justice Atuguba, “Scanning through the events in the court, that is rubbish.” He argued that the NPP had no objections when Justice Gertrude Torkornoo was making decisions in their favour, hence their public outcry over her suspension.
Mr Davies further accused the retired justice of demonstrating political bias in favour of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), saying his remarks damage the credibility of sitting judges.
“Now, he is just trying to paint them with a brush. What he said was that if the panel had not been reconstituted, would we have had a 3-2 decision? Excuse me, Justice Atuguba, stop doing this to the judiciary,” he stressed.
Addressing claims about recent Supreme Court decisions, Mr Davies rejected suggestions that Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo had engineered panels to achieve predetermined outcomes.
“These quarrels about unanimous decisions, and that when Justice Gertrude Torkornoo is or was Chief Justice she was empanelling Justices who always retained decisions, then that is simply not true,” he stated.
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