The supreme court does not make laws but interpret them

The word “truth” is a mirage for many people who think that they can coin their own idiosyncrasies to conform to the dictates of conventional wisdom. Ghana like many civilized nations is or should be, administered on systems and institutions of Laws which must be respected, obeyed and followed. This nation is not a jungle, and the body that controls and interprets our Laws, is our Court system which is manned by Judges, with the Supreme Court operating as the highest appellate body. Like the name Supreme connotes, it is the embodiment of our Laws and Constitution and holds the key to all interpretations thereof. As a country with an Executive Presidency, almost all Laws are initiated by the Executive (President, Cabinet and the Secretaries) through the Attorney-General Dept. which drafts the Laws. Procedurally, drafted Laws by the Attorney’s Generals Dept. are sent to Parliament for delibrations; amendments and passage, before they become Laws. In other words, if the nation is lacking appropriate Laws and Regulations to deal with “galamsey activities”, the person to be blamed is the President and not the Parliament, because by perculair arrangements the Parliament of Ghana cannot technically initiate any Law. Similarly, the Judiciary which comprises our Judges and Courts, does not make Laws but interpret them, whilst ensuring the enforcement of the operational Laws of the land which have been accepted by the Parliament, remains with the Executive (President).
Presently, no individual or institution (including the Office of the President), the Judiciary or Parliament can change or alter the Constitution and Laws of our land (with particular reference to the 2012 Election Petition unless reviewed at a later date. In other words, nobody can change the rules of engagement governing our elections as enshrined in the operative Constitutional instrument (CI 75), notwithstanding the merits and demerits of it. Elections are run on strict regulations and the operative Law, with no room for shifting the goal post to suit one’s agenda. If the law talks about biometric verification before voting, let it be so because that is the law. I believe that conscious people in future will question the framers of our Laws on whether they did a good job in reference to the Constitutional instrument or not.
I was in Ghana on vacation when the respective draft legislation was placed before the Parliament for consideration. Although I had my own reservations with the details, unlike the United States of America where one can call his or her Congressman, the situation here was different because the ruling party with the numbers in Parliament was going to bulldoze their way through with their agenda whether it is good or bad. The ill-intents of the ruling party led to its creation of more Districts, constituencies and Parliamentarians, notwithstanding the economic mess and pressure of its actions on the public purse. In pursuit of their hidden agenda, they refused to listen to any word of wisdom and now the birds have come to roost. At the moment, the nation is paying the price from having a straight-jacketed Law (CI 75) introduced by a ruling party that has been dogmatic, insensitive and impervious to reasoning. Without ambiguity, our enshrined Electoral Laws (with reference to verification before voting among others infractions), are yet to be tested for the wisdom and viability, for the evil that men do lives after them.
The import of this article is to attempt to unearth the functions of the various governmental machineries with particular reference to the Supreme Court, to enable most of us to understand the impending ruling by our eminent Judges, who are constrained by our Laws and the Constitution. There is a maxim in computer literature which states that ‘garbage in garbage out’ which literally means that the end product is reflective of what you put in. I do not know if our eminent Judges have the mandate to change or interpret any Law in our Constitution to the contrary, based on their philosophy, wisdom or experience other than to ensure the enforcement of what has been inscribed and prescribed in our Constitution (Laws), since there are no ambiguities to warrant that. We should not expect anything strange from the Judges because they are just going to follow the Laws of the land to the brim and we should be content with their decisions. If we did not complain about our laws then, we cannot complain about them now.
TO THE CITIZENS OF GHANA
We need to remind ourselves that the on-going election trial has nothing to do with any of our political parties but ourselves and our inalienable right to elect our own leaders. This trial is an endeavour that will give value to our votes and end the manipulations of our electoral process by conmen, tricksters, selfish and nation wreckers. What is the price in risking our lives to sleep overnight at polling station while others wake up early in the morning to vote only to allow few misguided persons to maneuver and circumvent our sovereign rights? These treasonable acts should not be allowed to flourish at a time when we need real leaders to lead this nation.
Ghana is in a mess since our politics and public administration is consumed with bribery and engulfed by corruption. The nation is in the throes of a scary economic turmoil since perpetrators of economic crime fear and suffers no punitive consequences, even as they conspire and loot state monies. Patriotism no longer has any value in our nation and is championed by nepotism, tribalism, partisan zeal and uninhibited exploitation.
Go to other places like Dubai and see how idealist can transform a hitherto desolate nation, with state resources. Visit our villages and small towns and see the pain in the faces of our citizens! Why should the people of Wassa Amenfi waste their time to vote during the election in their state of deprivation? We need to start thinking about ourselves and our rights to live a decent life and stop thinking about our politicians who are just vampires!
TO OUR EMINENT JUDGES
My Lords, this nation has reached the cross-roads and is saddled with a riddle of choices – one of which would lead to its redemption; the other towards continuity of its maladministration and another to its destruction! In all this confusion and uncertainty, you are confronted with the duty of salvaging the sovereignty, pride and image of this nation. At this instance of the nation’s 2012 Election Petition public trial, some people still do not understand that elections are run on regulations and not by propaganda. You have given us hope of a better Ghana in the near future with discipline. You have assured us that our nation can redeem itself from illegal “political galamsey”; acts that subvert our dignity and corrupt our morals as decent Ghanaians through misrule. We are more than hopeful that you will deliver a verdict that you can defend and also stand the test of time. We pray that the good Lord grant you the wisdom of the law and equip you with the requite bravery to save this nation.
This ‘Trial of the Century’ holds the key to our existence as conscious people who are capable of redeeming themselves. This trial has unveiled to us the rot in our electoral process, the rudiments of the law and the power behind it. This process will surely redeem our nation, redefine our democracy and realign our democratic system. It signals the beginning of our growth as a democratic institution because we will never again in our history surrender our sovereignty loosely and allow any group of people to manipulate the electoral process to determine our fate. The 29th of August, 2013, will surely come and go after our Eminent Judges have delivered their verdict, based on the operative Law of the Land. Those who disagree with the verdict, will only be justified were our Eminent Judges have failed to comply with the dictates of the operative Law that underpins the merits of the Case. Let us hope for the best because it is a good thing that Ghana lives on!!!

ERIC KWABOADU EDUSEI, VA USA