Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Duose, has described the ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the election of James Gyakye Quayson, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, as unconstitutional.
Speaking on Accra-based CTV, the Retired Appeals Court Judge noted that people must take their time to read the judgment.
“Honestly, we must take our time to read that judgment because there are lots of things in there that some of us do not know. What’s mind-boggling is that Gyakye Quayson went for Canadian citizenship on his own; he willingly wrote to the Canadian government to renounce the citizenship.
“Now what our friends are saying is that despite renouncing the citizenship, he must wait till the other state agrees and awards him a certificate before he can fully say he is no more a citizen. All of us here in Ghana know that if Ghanaians become citizens of other nations, it’s only for convenience,” he said.
Justice Duose Rtd continued: “It’s like going for a building permit. You’re done writing the exams, they are done marking, the results are in, and they show you have passed but because you do not have a certificate so you can’t go to school. That’s what has happened.”
“You’re done writing your exams you’ve passed but because you don’t have a certificate you can’t go to school, you only have a results slip,” he stressed.
The former Appeals Court Judge, however, indicated that the judges erred in their decision.
“I think so: [the Judges erred] bad time, bad time. I think they erred and the criticisms that are following are constructive, they are in order,” he noted.
“When a Ghanaian goes abroad and attains citizenship and ascends power, we laud the person. When our child [Ghanaian] became finance Minister [Kwarteng in the UK] we all lauded them. Why are you lauding your native who has become somebody in a foreign land and yet your own native has come to do something here, and no,” Justice Duose(Rtd) noted with concern.
“So long as I’m concerned I don’t agree,” the retired Appeal Court Judge said.
He appealed to political commentators to stop the labelling of judges as NPP or NDC judges as they are neutral.
“They shouldn’t say that judge was appointed under Kufuor so when anything Kufuor-related comes he must support or because he was appointed during Atta-Mills’ era, anything Atta-Mills must be supported by him. That’s not how the law works. The judge is neutral the moment he receives his certificate,” he said.
“Like the current Chief Justice, I think she climbed up under all presidents current and past so I won’t agree when people attempt to label her an NPP or NDC judge,” Justice Duose stated.
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