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Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah has sparked anger as he reportedly single-handedly ordered a holiday for the entire judiciary in celebration of the 39th Martyr’s Day.
In what appeared to be a usurpation of the powers of the entire government machinery and legislature, the Chief Justice ordered all courts to close for a mandatory holiday on June 30, 2021, for the controversial Martyr’s Day.
In a letter issued to all judges in the country, Justice Anin Yeboah wrote: “In conformity with tradition, approval has been granted for members of the Ghana Bar Association to withdraw their services from court appearances on Wednesday, 30TH June 2021.”
He continued: “In view of the foregoing, the Courts should not sit on Wednesday, 30th June. Cases that have been scheduled for that day are to be adjourned.”
What has been described by critics as the excesses of the Chief Justice has sparked speculations that there is an agenda to revive incendiary issues in ways that could spark unrest.
This is because the Martyr’s Day appeals particularly to the political divide associated with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NPP had cancelled the official celebrations of similar holidays like the June 4th and December 31st remembrance days that are associated with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Also, previously, this solemn memorial service had not required an entire judicial holiday which is normally a subject of specific legal instruments.
The implication of Justice Anin Yeboah’s “dictatorial” order is that Ghanaian citizens scheduled for trial or are seeking justice on Wednesday, June 30 would be denied the opportunity.
Also, the order did not specify when the courts are supposed to resume from their forced holiday.
Besides, the rationale for ordering a court holiday on June 30 is not clear, since the actual event necessitating the Martyr’s Day happened on July 1, 1982.
On the day, three Ghanaian High Court judges: Justice Fred Poku Sarkodee, Justice Cecilia Afran Koranteng-Addow and Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong were abducted and gruesomely murdered by some military officers during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military regime.
The bodies of the murdered judges were doused with petrol and set on fire.
The event has since been a volatile matter to whip up in Ghana’s political discourse and has become a day of solemn reflection by the judiciary.