It is with a heavy heart that I recount how a petition signed by myself the Executive Secretary Mr.Mensah Thompson and delivered to the office of the Chief Justice on the 3rd of August,2017 could not be traced a few months later on a follow up.
The entire files of 2017 were searched at vast length with all documents and letters submitted on that faithful day fully intact except the petition from ASEPA asking the Chief Justice to broadcast the hearing of the petition against the EC as a measure of transparency to avert any backlash that may occur among stakeholders especially political parties when a final verdict was reached.
I remember on that faithful day I couldn’t believe with my own eyes what I was witnessing.
That faceless petitioners petition could be traced and referred to the Chief Justice but the one from a civil society,nicely printed on a letter head and duly signed by the Executive Secretary could not be traced.
Again I did not give up I went back, reprinted a copy of the letter and resent it to the office of the CJ again only this time I wasn’t allowed to take a photograph of it after it has been recieved.
A few months later I followed up again for a response on the petition and again the petition could not be traced.
That’s where I gave up and decided not to follow up again.
A few days ago some group of persons petitioned the CJ that her outfit should expedite work on the EC probe.
Barely 72 hours later,a letter signed by President was issued dismissing the EC chairperson.
Then I said to myself this was not an accident or deliberate,it was a well thought out plan.
But on the issue of the missing petition I would not jump into conclusion and say it is deliberate(on two clear occasions) but if officials letters and petitions or documents could go missing from a whole office of the Chief Justice then how safe are we?
How serious are we as a people or a government?
In other jurisdictions this could be enough grounds to cause the resignation of the Chief Justice, but definitely not my Ghana.
But I pray one day one day we shall get there,one step at a time!
Attached:is a copy of the endorsed petition for your perusal (it was if I predicted this outcome,when I decided to take a picture after the secretary to the CJ recieved the letter and endorsed it.)
Mensah Thompson
Executive Secretary
ASEPA
