I don’t fear being axed from law practice for criticizing judges – Sosu
Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, says he will continue his pursuit for an independent judiciary devoid of political influence at the cost of his law profession.
The human rights lawyer was responding to a statement from the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG), which said that Mr Sosu’s earlier comments against judges were in bad taste.
The Madina legislator had accused some judges of taking entrenched political positions in the discharge of their duties.
“If you make yourself a political judge, you will be treated politically, and your tenure of office will run with the political party that you follow,” he said.
But the association, who frowned on the young lawyer’s outburst, described it as unfortunate, reckless, misguided, and simply an attempt to scandalize the judiciary and judges.
Consequently, the AMJG reported him to the General Legal Council (GLC) for disciplinary action.
Commenting on the threat to drag him before the GLC for his conduct, Mr Sosu said he was not worried.
“For an Association of Judges and Magistrates to make a report to the General Legal Council which has the same judges as members, I wonder how a ‘cockroach can be justified in the court of fowls’.
“I will not fight for justification where none can be found. Indeed, if this is about Rule of Law, then all judges on the General Legal Council and representatives of the Ghana Bar Association would have to recuse themselves from hearing the complaint they seek to file.
“Be that as it may, perhaps this may be the end of my legal professional journey, but I do not fear to leave the ‘noble’ profession for cautioning against ‘ignoble’ acts of few bad nuts that can destroy our democracy.
“I am fortified by a phrase in the National Anthem ‘…Bold to defend forever the cause of freedom and of rights…’ This is my resolve. However it ends, I am glad I served my generation,” he stressed.
The Madina legislator, in a sharp rebuttal, reiterated that the AMJG stance will not stop him from his continuous critique of the judiciary when need be.
“I am highly disappointed with the content of the statement because the association clearly misconstrued the content and the context of my statement. For the avoidance of doubt, my statement was indeed deliberate and well thought out, except that contrary to their assertion, it was never an attempt to scandalize the judiciary.
“Again, I completely disagree with the association when it said my statement was unprofessional and an unprovoked attack on the judiciary. The statement was in no way an attempt to either scandalize or attack the judiciary. Rather, it was a conditional statement cautioning judges who may ‘allow themselves to be influenced politically to be partisan’,” he said in a statement.
He urged the judges to rather take his counsel in good faith as it goes to the very roots of Ghana’s democracy.
As a human rights activist, the legislator said he is deeply worried about the posturing of the association.
“I know of many fine judges from District Courts, Circuit Courts, High Courts, Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court who have demonstrated an impeccable fidelity to the Rule of Law and the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
“Why should a judge be disturbed by my statement if the said judge does his or her work well and does not allow him or herself to be influenced politically to be partisan? Who the cap fits let him or her wear it,” he added.
Read the full statement below: