Former Abuakwa South Member of Parliament and legal practitioner Samuel Atta Akyea has cautioned the judiciary against allowing political pressure or public expectations to influence the administration of justice.
According to him, the credibility of the justice system could be undermined if courts are perceived to be focused on securing convictions and sending people to prison to demonstrate their political relevance.
Mr Atta Akyea made the remarks on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday while discussing the conviction and 20-year prison sentence handed to his client, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, in an illegal mining-related case.
He argued that courts must focus solely on the fair and impartial application of the law rather than the number of people they convict or imprison.
“A court of competent jurisdiction wouldn’t want to care about the fact that, ‘How many people can we jail so they will say that we are politically consequential?’ No, that’s not justice delivery.”
The lawyer warned that the judiciary must guard against perceptions that criminal prosecutions are being pursued to satisfy political expectations or create a positive image for those in power.
He said political excitement surrounding prosecutions should not find its way into the courtroom.
“That kind of frenzy in the NDC and the Jubilee House, you will not find expression in the court of competent jurisdiction,” he said.
Mr Atta Akyea also raised concerns about the pace at which politically sensitive criminal cases are being handled compared with civil matters.
He questioned why the same urgency applied to criminal prosecutions was not being extended to civil cases, describing the disparity as unhealthy for the justice delivery system.
According to him, the trend could create the impression that judges are under pressure to quickly impose custodial sentences.
“It’s as if the judges are in an ambulance move to jail people. Justice hasn’t got a political term of four years.”
Mr Atta Akyea stressed that the effectiveness of the judiciary should not be measured by the number of convictions or prison sentences it secures, warning that such an approach could weaken the rule of law.
