Wontumi Sentence: It’s As If Judges Are In An Ambulance Moving To Jail People- Atta Kyea
Former Abuakwa South Member of Parliament and lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea has cautioned the judiciary against creating the impression that courts are pursuing convictions to demonstrate political importance.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews, Mr Atta Akyea stressed that justice delivery must be guided by fairness and the proper application of the law rather than the desire to increase the number of convictions or prison sentences.
His comments follow the conviction and 20-year prison sentence handed to New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over illegal mining-related offences.
Mr Atta Akyea argued that courts should not measure their effectiveness by the number of people they send to prison.
“A court of competent jurisdiction wouldn’t want to care about the fact that, ‘How many people can we jail so they will say that we are politically consequential?’ No, that’s not justice delivery.”
According to him, the judiciary must remain independent and avoid any perception that criminal prosecutions are being influenced by political expectations.
He said justice should not be driven by political pressure or public excitement surrounding high-profile cases.
“That kind of frenzy in the NDC and the Jubilee House, you will not find expression in the court of competent jurisdiction.”
The legal practitioner also raised concerns about what he described as a disparity in the speed at which politically sensitive criminal cases are handled compared with civil matters.
“The same energies judges are using to adjudicate criminal cases are not being applied to civil cases,” he said, arguing that the imbalance could affect public confidence in the justice system.
Mr Atta Akyea warned against a situation where judges are perceived as rushing to impose custodial sentences.
“It’s as if the judges are in an ambulance moving to jail people. Justice hasn’t got a political term of four years.”
He maintained that the credibility of Ghana’s justice system depends on fairness, impartiality and adherence to the rule of law, rather than the number of convictions secured.
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