Even before the elections of December 7 2008, the then National Democratic Congress(NDC) had promised on various campaign platforms, how vigorous they were going to prosecute ex-government officials should they be voted into government.
They crystallized these campaign promises into their 2008 election manifesto. It was as if prosecutions were synonymous to mere winning of elections. From what is happening in the courts right now in Ghana, it is obvious that, those prosecutions which the NDC promised can at best be described as propaganda prosecutions!
It will not be wrong at all for one to state that, the NDC has not got what it takes to win credible cases in court. They seem to be shouting on radio stations and at press conferences than they are actually able to shout in the courts.
From what is going on the country, it is very evident that, some of the cases that have so far gone against the NDC should not have gone to the courts in the first place! It is clear that, the best place that their so called legal brains can function is the pro –NDC Radio Gold station owned by the Ahwois who are even seen to be more powerful that president Mills!
This is a party that went into election 2008, with ‘evidence’ to the effect that, corruption was the ‘resident director’ in the NPP’s administration. The NDC went ahead to create the false impression that, it had audios, videos, and documentary evidence to support their claims of all manner of corruption in the country then.
With such well rehearsed lies, they ‘stole’ power from Ghanaians. What was now left, was for them to unveil the ‘incontrovertible’ evidence that, they alleged they had while in opposition to effect prosecutions. So very sweet were some of their allegations that, some of their supporters were jittery to see such evidence.
Unfortunately, there is a world of difference between propaganda evidence and the real evidence in court. While the NDC could boast of the propaganda ‘evidence’ they could not see their way very clearly in court. I even heard the last time, they went to court in one hot afternoon with ‘lanterns’ to aid them see but could not even still make any head-way. They were told that, the procedure they wanted to adopt to prosecute Dr Wereko Brobby and Kojo Npianim was death and buried even before the first white man came to the then Gold-Coast!
This is seen as a huge embarrassment to the NDC and president Mills who is a teacher of law. It must be explained that, the NDC had earlier received lots of defeats in the courts on other cases that, students with mere intentions to read law could have won! Unfortunately for the NDC, they were rushing to court because of the ‘choobooi’ ‘choobooi’ that were coming from their supporters to the effect that, ex-government officials must be prosecuted by all means!
The Attorney-General Betty Mould Iddrisu came under intense pressure from his own party people. Some were virtually calling for her removal with some directly questioning her competence to advice the state on which cases should go to court and which should not go.
In the midst of the brouhaha against the Attorney-General, she decided to use the media to calm their supporters. She closed 2009 with a promise of vigorous and speedy prosecutions of ex-government officials in 2010. She was even heard during an interview with the media say that, 40 dockets were ready for the courts in 2010.
Many human rights lovers were so shocked that, Betty Mould Iddrisu chooses the media rather than the courts to do her prosecutions. No wonder even after all the defeats, the NDC suffered in court, the party has elected to use fear mongering to obtain prosecutions.
The National Chairman of the NDC openly accused the judiciary of bias against the NDC and promised ‘cleansing’ of the judiciary as well as using all ways and means to ‘kill a cat’. His statement to me was just similar to the kicking of a dying horse. This is because, the NDC as a party and even president Mills as president of Ghana, can not cleanse the judiciary not to talk of Dr Kwabena Adjei!
There is the very urgent need to tell the NDC that, cases are won in the court rooms and not in the media. The earlier they search for law books to update their lawyerly skills the better for them.
As for those threats from Dr Kwabena Adjei, they can at best be described as shallow and empty. The republic of Ghana is not also known as the republic of NDC. Ghana is not an NGO for NDC alone. Infantile comments can not scare any judge to violate the constitution or slant, twist or curve judgments in favour of the NDC; merely because, they had the misfortune of ruling Ghana at this time.
The NDC must be told that, ‘Choobooi’ ‘Choobooi’ prosecutions would be resisted by Ghanaians. The days were illiterate Tribunal Chairpersons just looked at how fat one was to determine how many years to sentence such persons are over and buried!
Dr Kwabena Adjei, tell your NDC lawyers to Read! Read!! And Read!!! Radio stations will not win them any case.
AKILU SAYIBU, UK
Email: Akilu.Sayibu@live.uwe.ac.uk