Ghana’s biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has resorted to petitioning the Commonwealth Secretariat about the maltreatment of its members and past government officials because they are not being given fair hearing in court.
This was disclosed by the party’s General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia.
In the petition signed by Mr Nketia, the NDC complained among others: “Since assuming the reins of power in 2016, the message of physical violence against political opponents that Nana Addo preached and championed before the 2016 general elections has turned into structural, institutional and systematic forms of violence in the form of human rights violations, harassment, and political persecutions against members and supporters of the NDC”.
Justifying the petition, Mr Nketia said: “This government is not respecting the right to life, right to a fair trial, and right to express one’s self”.
He said it was imperative that the Commonwealth “come and advise the government” insisting “the government should respond to the Commonwealth”.
“That is why we are requesting that they send a team to come and investigate the claims that we are making,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Godfred Dame has said the petition is just an attempt by the NDC to evade the claws of justice.
Mr Dame, who is also the Minister of Justice, told journalists on Tuesday, 1 March 2022: “I find it [petition] to be very hypocritical and misleading”.
He explained: “All the government has sought to do is that the NDC and its officers are brought to book”.
“I will not be deterred at all in my quest to ensure that there is accountability for the people of Ghana”, he vowed.
He noted that the “cases that we have investigated and the actions we have filed in court are on account of solid evidence that we have unearthed through painstaking investigation”.
“I can cite the incident of Alfred Woyome”, pointing out: “All this recourse to the tribunal is an attempt to get the NDC to run away from justice [because] their claims are unjustified”.
“I do not think we must pay too much attention to it,” he added.
To him, “It is a clear attempt to undermine the administration of justice in the court and an attempt to interfere with the sound administration of justice”.
“As far as I know, no foreign entity can influence or interfere with the courts of justice in the country”, he averred.
“As far as I am concerned, all this attempt by the NDC is an attempt to infringe the sovereignty of Ghana.”
