Perception of Supreme Court being ‘Unanimous FC,’ threat to democracy – Mahama warns

John Dramani Mahama, former president and 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cautioned against a rife perception of the Judiciary being politically biased.

He holds that there is an urgent need for the judiciary – especially the apex court – to work towards instilling confidence in its output and by so doing save the country’s democracy.

Mahama told a gathering of NDC lawyers over the weekend that a judiciary needed to be trusted by the public at all times because such trust had wide-ranging implications on the security of the state.

“So badly has the image of our Judiciary deteriorated, that many of our citizenry openly make mockery of our justice system and of our justices. The phrase ‘Go to Court’ is these days met with derisive laughter, instead of hope that one will truly get justice.

“If people are not poking fun about politics and inducements being used to sway the hand of justice in the lower courts, then it is poking fun and making statements about the 7-0 of the ‘Unanimous FC’“ he added.

‘Unanimous FC’ is in a terminology that is associated with Supreme Court rulings especially when justices of the court deliver a full bench dismissal of political cases before them – a case in point being the 2020 election petition.

Mahama stresses that such perception and derision of the apex courts, is, “an unfortunate development. One of the scariest existential threat to any democracy is when citizens think their judiciary holds no value for them,” he added.

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Mahama further suggested that the current damage of the judiciary and the work needed to restore that battered image needed to be undertaken by a new Chief Justice.