John Mahama would have lost election petition even if his wife presided – Manasseh

Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has become one of many popular Ghanaians who have waded into the conversations around justice delivery in the country, following a recent statement by the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah.

Addressing a meeting with some members of the judiciary last week, the national security minister outlined the implications of a skewed and inefficient justice system to the peace and stability of the country.

Emphasising the need for a fair justice system, Mr Kan-Dapaah, among other things, cited the need for the judiciary to avoid validating a perception of being skewed in favour of the current government, in its rulings.

“If the interpretation of the law is tilted in our favour all the time, people will start to accuse the judiciary and will not have the confidence that they need,” he stated.

Manasseh Azure Awuni, who has since waded into the public conversation raised by the minister’s comment, has emphasized that there are clear reasons for concern when it comes to justice delivery in the country.

Despite this position, the investigative journalist, in a series of Facebook posts, has suggested that despite the courts failing in their determination of some cases, there are clear examples to show the judiciary is also living up to its mandate in other instances.

He cited the case of the 2020 election petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama as one of the cases where the courts ruled rightly, based on merit.

“Even if Lordina Mahama had presided, John Mahama would have lost the petition. But there are other cases the courts failed Ghana,” the investigative journalist noted.

In an earlier post, Manasseh described the national security minister’s caution as being correct but not politically right.

“Albert Kan Dapaah’s caution to the judiciary is not politically correct, but it is correct,” he said.

In another post, Manasseh stated that “there are excellent, principled and conscionable judges. And there are the others, too.”