The President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Yaw Acheampong Boafo, has emphasized the need for Ghanaians to refrain from politicizing issues related to the judiciary, particularly concerning judges.
Addressing attendees at the Martyrs of the Rule of Law event held at Cavalry Baptist Church in Accra on Sunday, June 30, Acheampong Boafo highlighted that judges are trained to maintain impartiality.
He expressed concern over recent public discussions on court cases, which he believes have been unnecessarily politicized, posing a threat to the country’s democratic values.
“We must spare the judiciary from our divisive partisanship. It is sad that public commentary relative to cases of public interest pending in court has taken on political colouration.
Acheampong Boafo stressed that judges do not undergo training based on political affiliations such as NPP, NDC, or CPP, affirming that Ghana’s judiciary, established under Chapter 11 of the 1992 Constitution, operates independently.
“There is no training module at the judicial training school known as NPP judge, NDC judge, CPP judge for anyone to tag a judge as NPP, NDC, or CPP. There is only one judiciary established in Chapter 11 of the 1992 Constitution,” he is quoted to have said.
He also cautioned that politicizing the judiciary risks repeating the tragic events that led to the martyrdom of judges, citing the 1982 killings of three High Court justices as a stark reminder of the dangers of such actions.
“I want to place on record that at no stage of the interview and evaluation process of an appointment to any level of the judiciary is the political affiliation or leanings of an applicant a requirement,” he added.