Retired Supreme Court Judge, William Atuguba has described as troubling the recent accusations of bribery levelled against a Supreme Court judge.
His comment follows an allegation made by Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka who stated during an interview on JoyNews that a Supreme Court judge attempted to bribe an NDC MP to vote in favour of former Speaker of the House, Prof Mike Ocquaye.
The Chief Justice has since asked for the assistance of the Asawase MP in investigating the issue.
But speaking to JoyNews, the former judge described the allegation as damning.
According to him, the judicial system is a sacred institution that adjudicates issues for peace to prevail in the country, as such, judges must desist from acts that have the potential to diminish the confidence the people have in the justice system.
He also charged the Judiciary to focus their energies on serving the country's best interest, particularly, at a time when the flagbearer of the NDC has challenged the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“It is obviously a matter of great concern because the Judiciary is a sacred institution. I used to make this remark when I was on the bench that ‘if on this earth you cannot get justice from the court of law, what is the alternative?”
“God applies his justice through human instruments; from the day of Moses, too Samuel and others. Therefore, in every undertaking, we [the Judiciary] should remain focused on trying to serve the country, genuinely to the best of our ability,” he stated.
Already, Dean of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) faculty of Law, Dr Ernest Kofi Abotsi has called on political actors to be circumspect about their utterances and accusations against the judicial arm of government.
In the legal practitioner’s view, without evidence, the allegations levelled against judges could destroy public confidence in the judiciary and subsequently lead to conflict and chaos.
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