A private legal practitioner, Lawyer Kwame Adofo has described some statements made by former president and the Election 2020 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama as “below the belt”.
According to him, these statements John Mahama made a forthnight ago touching on the Supreme Court’s verdict on the matter of the NDC, a private citizen and Electoral commission of Ghana on the new voters register impugn the integrity of the court.
Speaking on an Accra based FM station in reference to the statement “the judgement represent a deliberate handiwork of a political party” made by Mr. Mahama, Lawyer Adofo described it as unfortunate.
Read: FULL SPEECH: Mahama’s address on the Supreme Court …
“Whiles John Mahama was talking yesternight after the judgement came in, he said something that displeased me. It was a political statement but it shouldn’t have come out the way it did. He said “the judgement represent a deliberate handiwork of a political party”. He is trying to mean that the judgement was informed by a political party. It is something that is below the belt. It is an unfortunate statement” he said.
According to the legal practitioner, it is normal for anybody to give their opinions on adjudications but in doing that one must take care not to say something that will tamper on the integrity of the court tat judges need to deliver their judgement in cases brought before them.
Read Also: Accra Ridge Hospital in the news once again as man narrates how he lost his wife there
He said “this is by ways of education. If a court adjudicates a case and you are dissatisfies, we have the opportunity to criticize the judgement. Even in the law school, judgement are given to students to read and give their opinions on the judgement. So there is nothing wrong with criticizing a judgement after it’s delivery. But what we don’t do is to impugn the integrity of the court; that the judgement given by the court is not from them or to insult them. It is something we don’t do…”
