Francis-Xavier Sosu fires CJ over Dominic Ayine; says he must realise his position is not a private one
- The Supreme Court cited Dr. Dominic Ayine for contempt for making some disparaging comments against it during the 2020 election petition trial
- He was hauled before the court on February 22 for the scandalous comment
- The court ordered him to go and apologise which he did, leading to him being discharged
- Months after the election petition, Dr. Ayine is likely to be cited for contempt again
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The Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has slammed the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Annin-Yeboah, for petitioning the General Legal Council to investigate Dr. Dominic Ayine.
The Chief Justice’s petition followed comments made by the former Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice during a CDD-Ghana roundtable discussion.
Speaking at the roundtable discussion, Dr. Ayine who is also the MP for Bolgatanga East questioned the independence of the judges of the Supreme Court that sat on the 2020 election petition, accusing them of “constantly putting hurdles” in the way of John Dramani Mahama “in terms of adducing evidence” to prove his case.
The Chief Justice, therefore, deems the comments by the former Deputy Attorney General “disparaging… and totally unacceptable”, thus the petition for him to be investigated for a possible contempt charge.
Commenting on the development in an op-ed sighted by YEN.com.gh, Francis-Xavier Sosu asked the Chief Justice to realise that his position is not a private one and “he is equally subject to public accountability and criticism.”
“Questioning the independence of the judiciary is an expression of an opinion which every Ghanaian retains the constitutional right so to do. Justice emanates from the people and dispensed on their behalf by the Judiciary,” the Human rights lawyer and activist added.
It will be recalled Dr. Ayine, a member of the legal team of former President John Dramani Mahama during the election petition trial, was cited for contempt for saying in one of his post-trial interviews that the court had a “predetermined agenda” to rule against the former president.
He was hauled before the court on February 22 for the scandalous comment. The court ordered him to go and apologise.
He rendered an unconditional apology on the same day, admitting that he went overboard and was reckless concerning the “remarks that I made.”
The court then discharged him on Thursday, February 25, 2021.
Mahama petitioned the apex court after rejecting the outcome of the presidential polls.
He argued in his petition that the December 9 declaration by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the presidential election was flawed.
The Apex Court, however, dismissed the petition, stating that it cannot order a rerun of the 2020 presidential polls.
The panel held that the former president failed to adduce “cogent evidence” to back his claims that there was no winner in the December 7, 2020, presidential elections.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
