In what is a metaphor for intimidation, Lawyer and Convenor of #FixTheCountry protest movement, Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor has taken on the Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah telling the CJ to stop “swinging his dick” or use petulant bat to gag voices of dissent.
This is for allegedly causing Dr Dominic Ayine to be summoned by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) over his ( Dr Ayine) criticism of the Supreme Court’s handling of the 2020 Election Petition.
According to Mr Barker-Vormawor, the judiciary is not beyond criticism in a just society and the Supreme Court, which is fallible, must accommodate criticism, adding that rather than diminishing the reputation of the Court, criticism enhances it.
Mr Barker-Vormawor chided the Supreme Court for seeking to gag people for seek to hold them to account even though they have producing “terrible judgements” after “terrible judgements”.
” Yet, this Court, whose only claim to fame has been the production of terrible judgements after terrible judgments is now majoring in the minors by swinging its petulant bat at every and anyone who dares hold it to account for its assigned powers.
It is a symptom of weakness to abuse power! The Court is weak jurisprudentially. And no amount of dick swinging or purposeful intimidation through the abuse of contempt and disciplinary powers can cure the glaring unsoundness in a majority of its decisions. Just in our lifetime, we have seen Judges band together to write a Gag letter to the press,” he stated in a post on social media.
Mr Barker-Vormawor bemoaned the Ghana’s constitutional arrangement which gives the Judiciary so much power and little room for it to be held accountable.
“One of the gambles our Constitution makes is for the Judiciary to be the guardians of our constitutional values. It failed to equip us with tools to protect ourselves from when a Court goes rogue and abandons the course of justice.
What checks and balances exist for the Judiciary? We cannot succumb our democracy to the tyranny of the horse wigs!” He added.
Meanwhile several others have criticised the Chief Justice’s decision to haul Dr Ayine before the Disciplinary Committee of the Disciplinary Committee. CDD-Ghana boss, Prof HK Prempeh described the move as bizarre.
