Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has claimed that the judiciary has been consistently unfair to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the past 32 years.
According to him, the pattern of court rulings against the party, dating back to the era of former President Jerry John Rawlings, suggests an inherent bias against the NDC.
Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV, Kwakye Ofosu asserted that the judiciary’s treatment of cases involving the NDC has often been prejudiced.
The Chief Justice is not at the beck and call of the President. She is the head of an independent institution. However, I have my views, and I don’t think they’ve been fair to the NDC. For 32 years, they have consistently ruled against us, he argued.
He cited historical cases, including rulings on the June 4th and 31st December anniversaries, as well as the legal challenge by J.H. Mensah regarding ministerial vetting, all of which the NDC lost.
Kwakye Ofosu further criticised what he described as inconsistencies in judicial decisions under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
He pointed to instances where cases filed by NPP members were expedited, while those brought by the NDC faced prolonged delays.
It was possible for Afenyo-Markin to file a case in court and have it heard within twelve hours. Yet, the minority’s case against the passage of the E-Levy has been pending for three years, he lamented.
He also questioned the ease with which Attorney General Godfred Dame replaced a judge in a particular case while similar requests by NDC-affiliated figures, such as Dr. Stephen Opuni, were denied.
He also highlighted perceived inconsistencies in contempt cases, referencing the difference in treatment between Kennedy Agyapong and the Montie Three.
A judge who held Kennedy Agyapong in contempt was changed because it was said that the contempt was directed at him. Yet, in the Montie Three case, the same judges who were allegedly disrespected were the ones sitting in judgment, he remarked.
Kwakye Ofosu insisted that the NDC must demand fairness from the judiciary and work towards addressing what he described as an institutional bias.
The inconsistency, the unfairness, the imbalance is manifest. That is a position I hold to this day. We need to insist on fairness and balance. While historical reasons may have created an antipathy towards the NDC, justice should not be dispensed based on political perception, he concluded.
