Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako has slammed the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) over their press conference on Chief Justice, Anin-Yeboah’s petition against Dr. Dominic Yeboah, Bolgatanga East MP and a former Attorney General.
The CJ has dragged Dr. Dominic Ayine before the General Legal Council, the regulatory body of the legal profession in Ghana, claiming the latter has made some scandalous statements against the Judiciary.
Dr. Ayine is accused of undermining the independence of the Judiciary during a public forum organized by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD).
“His Lordship the Chief Justice therefore finds his alleged disparaging comments totally unacceptable and would like you to investigate the matter,” the CJ stated in his petition.
But Dr. Ayine has refuted the claims saying “as I have stated in this response, as a lawyer, I have a special responsibility to engage in criticism of the work of the judiciary. By reason of my training and experience, I am better placed than most of my fellow citizens to point out deficiencies in judgments and in the performance by the judiciary of its core constitutional mandate”.
The NDC has admonished the CJ to withdraw his petition.
According to the party’s General Secretary, the NDC supports Dr. Ayine insisting he didn’t “violate any rule or professional conduct rules for lawyers…Neither Dr Ayine, nor we in the NDC can be compelled to increase our confidence in the independence of the Judiciary even when the Court has not given us any basis or reason to do so”.
He accused the CJ of suprevising a ”judiciary tyranny” aimed at gagging lawyers of the NDC.
But to Kweku Baako, nobody is intimidating NDC lawyers.
”…we are now being told by their party that these lawyers affiliated to them appear to have been singled out and are being intimidated into submission of some sort. Now, these lawyers, they’re lawyers; not people like us. They go before the Committee, a Committee which is part of their own profession, all this thing is captured in the Legal Professional Conduct And Etiquette Rules 2020 (LI 24/23)…They submit themselves to this; I don’t know maybe at a gunpoint and yet we have their party…there soliciting some sympathy…on their behalf that they’re being intimidated”, he stated, asking ”don’t they have their own senses? Aren’t they trained minds? Aren’t they learned people? Aren’t they members of the learned profession? When they go to the Committee, what animal is that Committee?”
He stressed; ”The political intrusion by the NDC was needless and it distorts and pollutes the environment.”
To him, the NDC is behaving like an ”unchained octopus on rampage”.
”Telling us that they’re threatening us (their lawyers). They’re intimidating us. They’re persecuting. They’re forcing a culture of silence on us and so we need your help. I’m not prepared to agree to that”, he stressed.
