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Chief Justice’s Behaviour Towards Ayine Clearly Proofs Culture Of Silence Is Back – Kwaku Azar
Professor Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar says the Chief Justice’s referral of Dr Dominic Ayine to the General Legal Council for investigations over comment made against the Supreme Court portrays a clear return of culture of silence.
Dr Ayine at a CDD roundtable discussion on ‘Presidential Election Petitions and their Impact on Africa’s Democracy’ reportedly questioned the independence of Ghana’s judiciary.
Dr Ayine said: “I expected the Supreme Court to apply faithfully the rules of procedure to – in terms of adducing evidence – prove the petitioner’s case and so on. What we saw was a Supreme Court that was constantly putting hurdles in the way of the petitioner in terms of adducing evidence to prove the petitioner’s case.
However, the statement did not go down well with the Chief Justice, Anin-Yeboah who referred to the General Legal Council for investigation comments made by the former deputy Attorney General.
Reacting to the Chief Justice’s actions, Prof Azar said “If you talk to 10 million Ghanaians on the election petition, you’re going to get 10 million opinions. Are we then going to refer 10 million Ghanaians to the general legal council to investigate?. This could actually make people silent for fear of being taken on for their criticisms.
“The disciplinary process is extremely serious because it imposes cost on whoever is sent there. You have to defend yourself, and potentially, you could be suspended, you could be disbarred, you could be reprimanded, you could be asked to offer an apology,” he intimated.
