Accra:US-based Ghanaian legal practitioner, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, has dismissed claims that threats by some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to leave the party in 2028 if Chairman Wontumi is granted bail, constitute an attack on judicial independence.
According to Ghana Web, Professor Kwaku Azar argued that the act of threatening to withdraw political support from a party does not, by itself, interfere with the judiciary's work. He questioned the logic behind linking such political threats to claims of judicial intimidation or pressure to deviate from legal principles.
Kwaku Azar further critiqued the notion that the alleged threats imply that NDC supporters view the judiciary as an extension of their party. Instead, he suggested that their concerns over Wontumi's potential bail might indicate an understanding that court decisions could be contrary to their expectations. He questioned how a political threat translates into a judicial threat, emphasizing that frustration or misunderstanding of judicial independence does not equate to an assault on the judiciary.
He concluded that the determination of Wontumi's bail application should be based on legal merit rather than political pressure or threats of withdrawing party support. If Wontumi meets the legal criteria for bail, the court should grant it; if not, it should be denied, independent of political threats.