Wednesday 8 September 2010

Ghana: Judicial independence debate rumbles on


Chief Justice Georgina Wood has denied allegations of corruption levelled against her by a group calling itself the Gospel Evangelical Crusades and Providence Foundation (GOEVAC-PFG).

The group, led by Reverend Kwarteng Amaning, held a press conference on 2nd September at which they accused Wood of aligning herself with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), and called for her resignation on the grounds that she had “displayed some level of incompetence and misuse of her office during the 2008 presidential run-off.”

According to Amaning, Wood's decision to allow a court to sit on a weekend to hear a case brought by the NPP disputing the Tain constituency's 2008 election results constituted a breach of the law. He claimed Wood went beyond her remit in allowing a court to sit on a 'non-day'

A response released by Wood's office said, “For well over a year, by lawful authority under the hand of the CJ, at least two courts sit every Saturday, which is a non-day.” The statement underlined her commitment to free and fair elections, and to transparency in the judiciary, criticising recent “scurrilous or vitriolic attacks on the person of judges”.

According to local media reports the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) took Amaning in for seven hours of questioning on 4th September.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates

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