Judicial cleansing suggestion is infantile - Jake

Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey         The Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described as infantile suggestion by a top gun of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Judiciary must be purged. "…if a decision is taken against them, then the scream is that it is an NPP judge – it’s under the influence - that is an infantile reaction." Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey spoke to Joy News from Kumasi after a press conference there to register the opposition party’s displeasure at the attacks on the Chief Justice and the Judiciary. According to him, the ruling party seems to have been basking in the victories of cases that go in their favour but fume when a ruling goes against them. Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kwabena Adjei, at a press conference on Tuesday, caused a stir when he cautioned the Chief Justice to embark on a house cleaning exercise to rid the bench of corrupt and biased judges or the NDC will do it for her. Dr Adjei alleged that the Judiciary was biased. His comment follows the Attorney-General's continual loss of several high-profile cases in the country. "People in the Judiciary can make a very good case look very bad. If the Judiciary is biased, if the Judiciary has made its mind in one direction, not even Jesus Christ who (when) appointed as the Attorney General can change things. We will clean it if they don’t take steps to clean it. We will clean it and let everybody everywhere blame us for interfering in the judiciary and we will take them on," Dr Kwabena Adjei had warned. Dr Kwabena Adjei has, since making the comment, been flailed on all sides for making unguided statements that threaten the “security of tenure” of Judges. The NPP Chairman believes the latest turn of events is rather disturbing. Mr Obetsebi Lamptey drew allusion to court verdicts in which Nana Ato Dadzie, Sherry Ayittey, among others – being NDC members - were found not guilty of certain offences. “I didn’t hear them when these people were freed saying that the Judges were NPP Judges but if a decision is taken against them, then the scream is that it is an NPP Judge…This is a complete disregard of the spirit of the constitution which goes out of his way to try to offer the judges of this country security of tenure that they cannot be dismissed, they cannot be thrown out by a government in power just because the government does not agree with the rulings that they are making.” Mr Obetsebi Lamptey challenged the NDC to cite instances where a judge who ruled in favour of a member of an opposition party was relieved of his/her post during the NPP era. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana