Benson Nutsukpui, President of the GBA
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has condemned the blatant disregard for court orders and attack on a judge discharging her lawful duty.
In a statement on the Delta Force attack on the Kumasi Circuit Court and freeing its members, the GBA said it was “sickening and horrifying to watch the videos of persons using violence as means to defy the court orders.”
The association noted that “such glorification of violence dastardly acts and threat to our judiciary cannot be tolerated or allowed under our democratic dispensation.”
It is totally unacceptable under whatever pretense to disobey orders of the court, attack or threaten to attack the person of the judge, thereby endangering the peace of our country.”
According to the GBA, any system that allowed an individual, group of persons or institutions to disobey orders made by a court of competent jurisdiction with impunity undermines the independence of the judiciary creates room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness.
The Association therefore called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to re-arrest all the 13 accused persons so that they could be remanded and investigated thoroughly.
It further appealed to the Minister of Interior to ensure the immediate disbandment of the Delta Force and all other vigilante groups that have sprung up in the country.
The GBA also reminded the public that “a judiciary that is protected against all forms of intimidation and interference is the key to securing judicial independence and the freedom of the citizenry.”
“We should therefore not, in any circumstance, countenance any attack whatsoever on the courts and judiciary as a whole for that matter.
A news item and video recording have gone viral, alleging that members of the supposed ‘Delta Force’ had attacked the Kumasi Circuit Court.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Mary Senkyere, had reportedly ordered 13 persons, who were charged with the offence of conspiracy to commit crime and assault on a police officer causing unlawful damage and preventing the officer from doing his lawful duty, to be remanded into custody and re-appear on 20th April, 2017.
However, the 13 persons ordered to be remanded in custody were allegedly taken away by the Delta Force in clear disobedience to the court’s order.
GNA