Joseph Osei-Owusu
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, also known as Joe Wise, has challenged members of the Minority to present proof of miscarriage of justice against any Supreme Court judge.
His demand came after the Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Governs Agbodza, attacked the Supreme Court justices, alleging that their verdicts are illogical.
Mr. Agbodza singled out the immediate past Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, for criticism, claiming that the retired judge caused the Supreme Court to commit multiple “miscarriages of justice,” the most serious of which was the one on citizenship.
But, in a sharp rebuttal, the First Deputy Speaker insists the Adaklu NDC MP got it wrong with his observations and rantings, and his criticism of Justice Anin-Yeboah in particular was unfair.
“I regret to observe that my colleague, the Hon Member of Adaklu and the [Minority] Chief Whip made an observation that the immediate past Chief Justice has left behind a miscarriage of justice.
“I beg to differ. Each judge is responsible for his judgment and writes judgments in his or her name,” he said.
He remarked, “I encourage anyone who wishes to charge any judge with anything done or not done to take a particular judgment of that person and demonstrate in his judgment whether he has visited miscarriage of justice.”
Joe Wise, who is also the NPP MP for Bekwai, stated that much as politicians are free to speak their minds under the protection of immunity on the floor of Parliament, they ought to be mindful of their choice of words and views.
“Justice Anin-Yeboah has been a High Court judge, a Court of Appeal judge and a Supreme Court judge. If you look through the records, you will find that he probably has even exceeded Justice Tailor in writing dissenting views.
“He is very independent in what he does. Even if he is presiding, his colleagues rule for and he dissents, and his position is very clear.
“I think we should judge him on what he has written as a judge. The content of his law, integrity throughout practice, is above board,” he advised.
He, however, said a politician’s verdict is different from lawyers’ verdict, and that the lawyers’ verdict was given on his last day.
“In the last 35 years, he is the only Chief Justice which the Bar Association has formally honoured. That is a good record and that should be respected,” he intimated.
He added, “Judges know that as humans they can err, and judges always welcome criticism of their judgments. But when we are critiquing a judgment, it is expected that we will critique the judgment with law, fact and alternative argument.”
“We should shy away or move away from just criticising because we agree or disagree, otherwise, we give room for people to attack individual judges rather than the judgments,” the Deputy Speaker admonished.
MP for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, asked the Minority Chief Whip to use appropriate forum to address what he considered to be a “miscarriage of justice.”
“When you have a tooth challenge, you don’t go and see a carpenter. You will go to a dentist. That is why the whole governance system has been partitioned.
“This is a chamber of law making. And another department of government has the remit to interpret the law. It is not a gari and beans situation. If we are in this chamber and we want to be elevated to the Supreme Court, the issue of citizenship is a constitutional matter,” he asserted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House