Political analyst, Dr Kwasi Amakye-Boateng, has urged caution over public appeals to President John Dramani Mahama regarding the 20-year prison sentence imposed on NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, insisting that any request for intervention should be handled discreetly.

Speaking on Angel FM, Kumasi, Dr Amakye-Boateng said matters involving possible presidential intervention in judicial issues should not be conducted through public pressure campaigns but through quiet engagement with respected figures.

“If the President is being asked to do something for him, it should be done quietly. You take it easy quietly. You engage some elders and in the background they talk, and obviously something could be done about it, and once again on the quiet,” he said.

According to him, the separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary must be protected if the public is to maintain confidence in the justice system.

He explained that while the branches of government are related in their constitutional functions, they must remain independent in the discharge of their responsibilities.

“The arms of government should be completely separate bodies, although related in their functions,” he stated.

Dr Amakye-Boateng stressed that the Judiciary must be objective and free from bias in order to deliver fair judgments. He warned that once judicial independence and impartiality are compromised, public trust in the courts would be seriously damaged.

“If the Judiciary is objective in its work and independent, there can be fairness in its judgments. If these two elements are compromised, the Judiciary is dead,” he cautioned.