According to a report by Adomonline, Dr. Arthur Kennedy, a physician and political activist, has expressed concern about the direction of the current Supreme Court.
He criticized the court for its recent decisions, stating that they raise serious questions about its neutrality and appear to be more politically motivated than based on legal principles.
Dr. Kennedy’s comments followed a recent Supreme Court ruling that ordered the Speaker of Parliament to stay the execution of his decision to remove four Members of Parliament (MPs) who had declared their intentions to run as independent candidates in the upcoming elections.
This ruling was a response to an application made by the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
Dr. Kennedy highlighted that this case, along with others like the Domelevo case and the LGBT case, has contributed to growing concerns about the court’s impartiality.
He said, “On too many occasions, like the Domelevo case, the LGBT case, and in this current case, our Supreme Court appears now to be doing more politics than law.”
He voiced his worry about how quickly the Supreme Court acted in these matters, particularly in comparison to how long other important cases took.
“It is strange, for example, that Domelevo’s case took as long as it took. It is strange that the LGBT case brutally truncated the law-making process that has been clearly set out, and now brakes have been put on it, and all of a sudden, this case, we managed to empanel a group of Supreme Courts, and within a day, a ruling has been made,” Dr. Kennedy said.
He further warned that if this trend continues, public perception of the judiciary would continue to erode, leading to dangerous political instability.
Referring to previous warnings by notable figures, he mentioned, “When these things keep happening again and again, there is the perception that our judiciary is biased and too political, as Kan-Dapaah and former President Mahama did say.”
Dr. Kennedy expressed fears that, in the future, each new government might feel compelled to install its own Supreme Court and Electoral Commission to ensure its interests are safeguarded, due to a lack of trust in previous institutions.
In response to these issues, Dr. Kennedy called for the establishment of strong guardrails around the judiciary to limit its involvement in political matters. “So my point is that as a nation, we need to make sure that we put in the guardrails.
I think that this judiciary, and particularly this Supreme Court, is too eager to stick its nose in political affairs and to stick it in consistently in a manner that seems to favor one side.”
He concluded by emphasizing the urgent need for judicial reforms to restore public confidence in the system. “It is dangerous to the stability of our political quality, and I think that this underlines the need for sweeping judicial reforms,” Dr. Kennedy added.
His comments come at a time when the role and decisions of the Supreme Court are increasingly coming under public scrutiny, with calls for changes to ensure the court’s independence and credibility.
