Who’s who on the Supreme Court panel-- Source ,Africa Confidential. • William Anaam Atuguba, Chairman, from Upper East Region, was appointed to the Court in 1996 by Jerry John Rawlings, then President. He was an NPP parliamentary candidate in 1992 but is said to have switched to the NDC. His nephew Raymond Atuguba is President John Mahama’s Executive Secretary but the NPP chose not to challenge his appointment to the panel. • Julius Ansah, from Ashanti Region, was appointed to the Court by former President John Kufuor (NPP) and his loyalties are said to lie that way. • Sophia Ophilia Adjeibea Adinyira, from Eastern Region. Though appointed by Kufuor, she is seen as more sympathetic to the NDC. • Rose Owusu, from Eastern Region, was appointed by Kufuor. She is seen as sympathetic to the NPP. • Jones Dotse, from Volta, was appointed by Kufuor. He is seen as the most inscrutable judge as his opinions on objections and interlocutories show no partisanship. • Anin Yeboah, from Ashanti, is a Kufuor appointee. The NDC believes him to be a staunch NPP supporter. • Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, from Accra, was appointed by Kufuor but is widely seen as a non-partisan voice. • Nasiru Sulemana (‘Sulley’) Gbadegbe, from Volta, was appointed by former President John Atta Mills but is non-partisan and particularly tough on procedural rules. • Vida Akoto-Bamfo, from Central, was appointed by Mills, with whom she got on well. She is thought to lean towards the NDC. In terms of votes on interlocutory issues, Justices Atuguba, Akoto Bamfo and Sophia Adinyira have ruled mainly in favour of the NDC respondents. Justices Yeboah, Ansah and Owusu have ruled mainly in favour of the NPP petitioners. Many legal experts see Dotse as the deciding figure if the vote is four to four. Initially, the petitioners’ case was given little chance. Opinions have changed as the case stretched out, watched by millions on TV, and the NDC’s political troubles have multiplied. A Supreme Court vote against the government began to look less unlikely but it would still set a huge precedent. It would also set in train a complex and costly election rerun that could further enflame political passions at a time of economic difficulty. All these issues will be taken into account in the panel’s final ruling. SOURCE: africa-confidential/article-preview/ id/4982/How_the_parties_judge_the_judges
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:28:52 +0000
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