Legal practitioner and NDC stalwart Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe has called on the Minority and critics of President John Dramani Mahama to remain calm over the suspension of the Chief Justice, arguing that the President has acted within the confines of the law.
Speaking on the constitutionality of the suspension, Tamakloe rejected claims of executive overreach. “Where from this abuse?” he asked.
“Today, if you comply with the constitution, you are rather accused of abuse”
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Legal Practitioner
In a spirited defense, Tamakloe drew comparisons with past events under the previous administration, cautioning against selective outrage and political amnesia.
His comments come in the wake of fierce backlash from sections of the political class who have described President Mahama’s decision as an abuse of executive power. Tamakloe, however, insisted that President Mahama is merely exercising constitutional authority, an authority that was equally used by his predecessors.
According to him, President Mahama has stayed within the legal parameters laid out in the 1992 Constitution and should not be condemned for doing so.
He also noted that four months into the Mahama administration, critics are already leveling accusations of constitutional violations without any evidence. “Is there anything that President Mahama has done so far that is not provided for by law? No.”
Tamakloe attributed the prudent legal decisions under Mahama’s presidency to the quality of advice he receives from his aides, sound advisers – contrasting the current leadership with past administrations that allegedly ignored legal protocol.
“Thankfully, President Mahama doesn’t have an executive secretary who is a lawyer,” he remarked, in an apparent swipe at Nana Akufo-Addo’s former executive secretary.
“Nana Addo had an executive secretary who is a lawyer, but told him to act unconstitutional. You remember cease and desist and the rest – we have seen this in this country before. We have survived it”
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Legal Practitioner
Silence and Historical Amnesia
Tamakloe accused the President’s critics of hypocrisy, stating that many of them were silent when former President Akufo-Addo used the same constitutional provisions to remove Electoral Commission Chairperson Charlotte Osei.
“With the greatest respect, we are not amateurs. We know our history. They should exercise patience. They should calm down and allow President Mahama to exercise his powers in the 1992 Constitution”
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Legal Practitioner
Urging them to show the same restraint now as they did then, he made reference to the 2008 post-election legal maneuverings, particularly an infamous leaked audio involving then MP Atta Akyea. He mentioned this as an example of blatant manipulation of judicial processes that went unpunished.
“The audio recording is still there with Atta Kyea on live tape basically saying that there has been Ex parte communication with the chief justice there – that once this issue is raised about the Learned judge the case will be transferred from that judge to a different in order to get a judge who will injunct the declaration of president Mills in 2008″
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Legal Practitioner
According to him the elaborate judicial manipulation involved Atta Kyea impressing on his sister in law, then a CJ to transfer the case from presiding judge Justice Edward Asante on a technicality to another judge who would rule in their favour.
“Look, these people, sometimes they think that we have short memories. No. It is for the sake of peace that we let things that have happened go”
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Legal Practitioner
While defending the current administration’s move, Tamakloe emphasized that the rule of law must be applied consistently.
According to him, the selective nature of public reaction based on political convenience undermines national discourse. “We’ve gone through all this checkered history and we are quiet. It doesn’t mean we don’t know what has happened in this country. We have a fair idea.”
Tamakloe reiterated his call to the Minority, urging them to avoid politicizing a legal process. As President Mahama enters his fifth month in office, the political landscape continues to grapple with tensions between legal authority and partisan interpretation.
For Tamakloe, the issue is not about personalities but principle, and that principle, he insists, is clearly grounded in the constitution.
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