It is the dream of every commissioned military officer to become a General one day, and every member of the bench to be appointed a Chief Justice.
Unfortunately, destiny works differently from our wishes. Some won’t come near their dreams while others will make it almost effortlessly.
One man whose dream of making it to the seat of Chief Justice is William Atuguba, but was denied same by destiny. He is still bitter as he appears to put the blame on not making it on the doorstep of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a political grouping he loves to hate.
His opprobrium for the party came to light when he chaired the elections petition in which John Dramani Mahama was declared winner.
His logic about polling station mismatches during the election petition hearing was laughable. He said that when a polling station is made up of a hundred persons and sixty voters turn up to vote at the close of polling, yet the number in the box is seventy, there is no over-voting, remains a classic illogicality.
His performance during the proceedings earned him the love of the party he loves from the bottom of his heart.
Nobody can deny him the show of love for a party of his heart’s desire, but he must conduct himself in a manner which would not disrepute the judiciary of which he was once a member.
A few days ago, he had another opportunity to spew words unworthy of his status as a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana, unkind words directed at the NPP.
Had the composition of the Supreme Court panel on the case of the suspended Chief Justice not been what it was, the outcome would have been different, he said excitedly about the outcome of the apex court’s ruling on a matter pertaining to the suspension of the Chief Justice.
We remember all the negative things many Ghanaians said about William Atuguba following the verdict of the election petition, hearing some of them too weird we would rather not repeat them here.
Ghanaians had taken note of the celebratory posture of President John Mahama even before the verdict was read and concluded that “it is finished, it has been sealed and delivered.”
It can only be imagined were destiny to pick him as Chief Justice.
The office of Chief Justice should be held by persons of integrity and principles. His opposition to the nomination of more justices to the Supreme Court is no secret. He said former President Akufo-Addo, when he did so, acted unethically.
What has changed overnight and the packing of the apex court is no longer an anomaly or even unethical, to quote his expression. He is subtly avoiding that subject because being at variance with his stance, he would rather sidestep it. That is what hypocrisy means, an attribute a Chief Justice should not exude.
We wish to express gratitude to President Mahama for recognising the good works of William Atuguba towards the fortunes of the NDC while in office as JSC and outside it in retirement.
Chairmanship of the University of Cape Coast’s Governing Council and a deputy headship of a state agency for his daughter are great presidential ‘thank you’ for a dedicated member of the NDC.