The Association of Judges and Magistrates say they are scared for their lives following threats to eliminate them by two political commentators last week.
According to the association, the utterances by the two panelists have put fear in many of its members who are responsible for dispensing justice in the country.
Speaking to the media, President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges, Sir Justice Dennis Adjei however assured its members that measures will be taken to ensure the safety of all judges and magistrates.
“The Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana have listened to the utterances of two radio communicators on Accra Montie FM 100.1 station where they threatened to eliminate judges.This was on the eve of Martyr’s Day.These utterances undermine rule of law and the independence of judiciary as contained in the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana.
“The utterances tend to put fear in the judges and magistrates of Ghana who are vested with judicial under the constitution.The members of AMJG condemn these uncalled for utterances made in bad faith to undermine the administration of justice in Ghana. The judiciary as an arm of government is crucial in this our democratic dispensation. It must therefore be strengthened and jealously guarded by all and sundry.”
Justice Adjei however urged various judges to “continue to dispense justice according to law as the Executives of the Association are working in conjunction with the Judicial Council and the government to ensure safety of all members.”
He further appealed to all “electronic and print media to be circumspect in their utterances and in what they print to avoid undermining the independence and integrity of the judiciary.”
Alistair Nelson, along with another panelist, Godwin Ako Gunn, allegedly threatened to “finish” the Supreme Court and High Court judges if they made any judgment against the Electoral Commission in the ongoing court case challenging the validity of the voters’ register. The two have been widely chastised over the comments.
The Ghana Bar Association on Friday called for the arrest and prosecution of the two, saying the comments “were also meant to incite hatred among the public against the judges” while the GJA in the statement called on media owners as well as the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), to prevent intemperate language on the airwaves especially ahead of the 2016 general elections.
-citifmonline