Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, says immunity is not conferred by a person’s position from the consequences of an interference in the administration of justice.
He said or an attempt to overreach a judgment to be delivered by the court in any matter, indicating that ‘we must respect due process.’
A statement issued in Accra by the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice said it had observed with concern the increased tendency for various persons, including members of the legal profession of considerable standing, to run extremely prejudicial commentary on cases pending before the courts.
He said the cases which had been the subject of unwarranted public commentary include but were not limited to, Republic versus James Gyakye-Quayson, Republic versus Dr Stephen Opuni and two Others and Republic versus Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and two Others.
He said a person’s position, be it in Parliament, the Judiciary, Traditional Authority, the Bar, or any official position did not put him or her above the law.
He said, ‘whilst respecting the freedom of all persons in Ghana to comment on any matter including cases pending in court, much of the recent commentary on many of the so-called high-profile criminal cases transgresses permissible limits of free speech, unduly interferes with the work of State Prosecutors performing their constitutional function of prosecuting crime in Ghana and tends to put unnecessary pressure on the courts.’
The AG reminded Ghanaians of the principle of the equality of all persons before the law enshrined in article 17(1) of the Constitution.
‘No person living in Ghana, citizen or non-citizen, is above the laws of Ghana or immune from an application of same,’ he added.
The Attorney-General’s constitutional responsibility for the ‘initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offences’ implies a duty to prosecute a crime committed in Ghana, after proper investigations have been conducted, irrespective of the political, race, colour, ethnic, religion, economic or social status of the culprit.
He said State Attorneys assisting the AG in the performance of ‘this hallowed constitutional mandate, operate under extreme pressure and are exposed to severe risks.’
Mr Dame said they had the right to prosecute cases freely in a court of law just as private legal practitioners enjoyed a right to defend their clients, free from abuse and attacks on their character.
He said the decision to prefer a charge against an accused person was not made on the basis of a person’s political status, social or economic standing but on the strength of evidence subject to the scrutiny of the courts.
He said an acquittal of a person by the courts did not imply malice on the part of the Republic in the filing of a charge.
The perception that a crime committed by a person of high political standing in society should not be prosecuted was dangerous for society and must not be countenanced.
He said many of the recent comments by various persons on some criminal matters, particularly those mentioned above, which were widely publicised in the media clearly exceeded the bounds
of acceptable speech as they sought to disparage prosecutors in the eyes of the public and frustrate prosecution of those cases.
Some of the comments are orchestrated to pervert the course of justice and or prejudice the fair hearing and determination of the cases, he said.
The AG entreated the public ‘to permit the streams of justice to flow freely and uncontaminated by undue comments and pressure on the courts.’
Source: Ghana News Agency