Chief Justice's decision to reject Special Prosecutor's petition for judge recusal apt - Lawyer

Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei has expressed his support for Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo's decision not to grant the petition of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, which called for Justice Edward Twum to recuse himself from cases involving the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

Poku-Adusei argued that the grounds presented by the Special Prosecutor were weak and did not meet the threshold required to prove bias on the part of a judge.

Poku-Adusei stated, "I have keenly followed that development. What would be the basis for asking the Chief Justice to ask a judge to recuse him or herself from a case? You (the OSP) argue that the judge has exhibited signs of bias, but then, before you can say that a judge is exhibiting any signs of bias, you must establish what interest that judge has in the matter."

He went on to emphasize the importance of the independence of the judiciary and cautioned against making baseless accusations against judges simply because a desired outcome was not achieved in court.

Regarding the Cecilia Dapaah case, Poku-Adusei raised concerns about the OSP's reliance on media reports rather than conducting thorough investigations. He called on the OSP to retreat and conduct concrete investigations into the matter to establish any wrongdoing on the part of the former minister.

"The [Office of the Special Prosecutor] is not looking at the core issues to establish what offense has been committed [by Madam Cecilia Dapaah], if any, but rather, [the OSP] is looking at what has been said in the media space. I feel that they must take their time; they may have a case, but they need to conduct thorough investigations into the matter before they consider any prosecution," Asaaseradio.com quoted Poku-Adusei.

He concluded by emphasizing the need for solid facts that can be proven in court before proceeding with any legal action.

Background:

On October 12, 2023, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng submitted a petition to Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo, requesting that the judge overseeing the lawsuit against Cecilia Dapaah, Justice Edward Twum, recuse himself from the case.

The petition was based on the belief that Justice Edward Twum exhibited bias against the OSP and the Special Prosecutor. As a result, the OSP was unwilling to participate in proceedings before this particular judge.

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

NAY/SEA