Former Ghana’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr Tony Aidoo, has strongly defended the petition that led to the removal of the Chief Justice, saying the issues raised should not be dismissed as trivial but rather seen as essential to strengthening the country’s democracy.
In an interview on The Gold Morning Conversation with Sena Numbo today, Dr Aidoo, who also served as a Senior Presidential Aide and Head of the Policy Evaluation and Oversight Unit in the Mills-Mahama government, argued that a lower threshold for holding public officials accountable is not a weakness but a democratic necessity.
“Indeed, a low threshold for accountability is what we need to defend the independence of the judiciary and protect the rule of law and our democracy. Because without a low threshold, people behave with impunity. So, if the grounds upon which she was removed are frivolous, they are the best defence for our democracy,” Dr Aidoo said.
The removal of the Chief Justice has generated widespread public debate, with some commentators questioning whether the issues raised in the petition met the threshold for such a decision. Critics have described the petition as weak and politically motivated, arguing that it lacked the seriousness required to warrant the removal of the head of the judiciary.
But Dr Aidoo insists that Ghana’s democracy stands to benefit more from lower thresholds that compel public officials to act with integrity, rather than raising the bar so high that misconduct goes unpunished.
“If public office holders were held to accountability with a low threshold, the fight against corruption would have some success. President Mahama has moved towards it by publishing the Code of Conduct for public offices. He should go a step further and see to the implementation of the code,” he noted.
According to him, public office holders must uphold the highest moral standards and not hide behind their positions to avoid scrutiny. “Do not forget that people in public office should start behaving like Caesar’s wife, conduct beyond reproach. And they should bear the greater responsibility for that standard.”
Asked whether he expected a lower threshold than the one applied to ordinary citizens, Dr Aidoo said: “In fact, a Chief Justice should bear a threshold much, much lower. Because you sit in judgment of others. And you cannot sit in judgment over others and present yourself as above the law.”
He added that the former Chief Justice appeared to believe her position made her untouchable, which, in his view, was a fundamental error in judgment: “That is another mistake she made, that she was something special by virtue of her office. But by virtue of your office, you bear greater responsibility and a level of accountability that you cannot liken to the ordinary person. Before the law, everybody is equal.”
Dr Aidoo’s remarks come at a time when there is growing public concern about integrity and accountability within the judiciary and other arms of government. He believes that only a strong culture of early and consistent accountability can safeguard the country’s democratic gains.
He concluded by urging Ghanaians not to be swayed by arguments that minimise the importance of holding public officials accountable early and often. For him, true independence and public trust will only come when those in power are held to the highest standards, and expected to meet them.
