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Opinions of Thursday, 20 June 2013

Columnist: Amenga–Etego, SaCut

Why I Admire The Supreme Court Of Ghana.

Many of us – if we’ll care to admit – had very little appreciation of how the Supreme Court of Ghana goes about the process of dispensing justice prior to this ongoing election petition. So: we can say there is an invaluable advantage to be gained by all of us with a LIVE telecast. No matter how much it is costing us to LIVE TV telecast the election 2012 petition trial, it is still worth our while – in my books.

I have followed the LIVE TV telecast with keen interest. I have had an appreciation for a lot of things – legally and logically. I admire all the lawyers representing the various parties for various reasons.

I admire Tony Lithur for his impeccable English expressions. His questions and probing keep viewers in animated suspense. He is charismatic and capable of intimidating a weak - minded witness into admitting things to their own detriment. He has clarity and he has swag in his presentation and appearance. He is most handsome, and no wonder most of his admirers are the women citizens of Ghana. This guy is boisterous in his presentation.

Tsatsu Tsikata is very admired not just by me, but by multitudes following this legendary court case. He is like the god – father of the law. His deep appreciation and his tendency to try to interpret the law to the judges cannot go unnoticed. He gets the witness to admit things before realizing that they have spoken to their own detriment. His arguments are flawless. You will think that any lawyer is good until you hear Tsatsu Tsikata. He is a master of logic. He makes exhaustive arguments with unique legal and English expressions. His trade mark grey hair distinguishes him – even from the judges – none of whom has that animated appearance. I admire him very much for his ability to litigate unabated until the judges’ rule in his favor.

I admire Philip Addison too albeit, I oppose his petition. He seems to have good coaches surrounding him and whispering some ideas to him. He is very adroit at putting words into the mouth of witnesses. An unintelligent and unalert witness is most likely to crumble under Philip Addisson. Indeed, this guy can make a case out of no case. He also has a sense of fashion similar to Tony Lithur but his pot belly makes him less sexy. He tries to be bellicose with his language. He is good lawyer with a bad case in his hands. I admire Philip Addisson nevertheless.

Quarshie Idun is the smoothest lawyer in the group. Old and gentle, he does not use flamboyant language or ‘bellicose rhetoric’ as the North Americans will say. He is also very adroit in detecting the right moment to intervene. His demeanor is pleasing not only to the nine judges and other lawyers at the bar but also to the general public. It looks like in his young days, he was a handsome man. His baritone voice is very pleasant to the ears. I admire him for his prudence in language and demeanor.

I also admire Justice Atuguba very much. His manner of speaking seems to differentiate him as the president of the presiding judges. With a hand gesticulation, an undulating voice pitch, a low tone, and a succinct use of rare vocabulary, Justice Atuguba’s rulings are uncontestable. Indeed, he sounds like that invisible and invincible voice of the people. I admire him also because he appears as a very democratic president of the SC judges.

I admire Amekudzi the Amicus Curae. His dramatic presentation in court twice was a great comic relief. His attempt to sound more American than the American President was something to laugh about. But more importantly, he is a detective of the right moment. He took advantage to be a part of the history in the making. He is a smart guy who failed woefully to make smart arguments in court but gained all the publicity for free.

I admire the witnesses’ too but that is partisan admiration so I will leave that out.

I admire justice, and hopefully, we should soon have it. But there are those who believe that injustice is more profitable than justice. What would we rather have? I know I will admire the final SC verdict on election 2012.

SaCut ‘’Commandante’’ Amenga–Etego – The writer is a multi – media Journalist, ghost writer and political activist in Ghana