Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu believes that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the four vacant seats indicates that the Court is weak.
He believes that the Speaker of Parliament will not respect the ruling and will push back, something he believes will help strengthen Ghana’s democracy. Ghanaian history books
To him, a constitutional review is necessary to ensure that the Executive Arm of Government does not interfere in the work of the Judiciary; that is the only way the Judiciary can assert its independence.
Speaking to Ghana Television after the ruling, the private legal practitioner said, “This decision will reinforce the speaker’s views that he doesn’t agree, so you are going to expect some pushback from the speaker. Ghanaian history books
It is good for our democracy because when the speaker pushes back, it will force us to think; it will force us to solve the problem, which is that we need judicial independence. That is what this decision underscores: that our judiciary has become a bit weak, the Supreme Court is a bit weak, so we will need a constitutional review, and as I stated earlier, the Chief Justice has said that the role of the president in the discipline of superior court judges is not good.
When you want to remove a superior court judge, you have to go to the president. If the president doesn’t like you, he will let it go on; if he likes you, he will sit on it. Money is blood like they say in Twi, so if it comes to the release of money to the judiciary too, the executive is using it as a form of control; they don’t release the money so they can influence the judiciary. So the judiciary itself is complaining that the president’s interference in their work is not good; it underscores the need for a constitutional review straight,” he said.
