Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Constituency, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini says it is inappropriate for a judge to comment on matters before the law court.
According to the former lawmaker, judges are representatives of the law court hence, publicly passing commentary on cases that are still being heard by the court prejudices the outcome and amounts to an interference in the work of their colleagues presiding over those cases.
“Judges don’t normally make comments on cases they preside on or cases that are in other courts. They don’t. Because any case that’s in the court is the court of that judge.
So Bolgatanga High Court, that judge there, that is his court so another court in Tamale will not make pronouncements over the case before the Bolgatanga High Court because it is like making a determination about what happens in somebody’s house,” he posited in an interview on State of Our Nation.
Alhaji Inusah Fuseini said this in reaction to the Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II’s call on the Attorney General to discontinue the criminal prosecutions against Member of Parliament for Assin North, Gyake Quayson.
Speaking at Professor Atta Mills Commemorative Lecture in Sunyani, the chief, who doubles as a High Court Judge, contended that it will be an insult to the people of the Assin North Constituency should the state press on with the criminal trial regarding the MP’s dual citizenship saga despite the overwhelming endorsement he got in the just ended by-election.
He also disagreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling that nullified Mr. Gyake Quayson’s election in the 2020 polls.
His comments have since attracted a barrage of criticisms with some calling for his removal from the bench.
But while acknowledging that it is inappropriate for a judge to make public comment on matters before the court, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini justified the Dormaahene’s utterances, arguing that he made the remarks in his capacity as a traditional ruler and not a judge.
“The Domrmahene is a judge and chief. When he was speaking, was he wearing a wig? He was speaking as a traditional ruler. He was not speaking as a judge, he was speaking in his capacity as a traditional ruler”.
