Delayed justice, biased justice, threat to National Security – Kan-Dapaah
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of National Security, says injustice, occasioned by the absence of an effective justice delivery system, delayed justice, and biased justice, was a threat to National Security.
He said, when injustice abounds, particularly in situations where the bench, considered as the final arbiter of disputes, was perceived to be biased, citizens tend to take the law into their own hands without recourse to the established systems of justice delivery.
Mr Kan-Dapaah was speaking on the newly launched National Security Strategy 2022 in Accra.
He said similarly, the failure of the criminal justice system to ensure effective and expeditious trial of criminals adversely impacted the morale of law enforcement agencies, emboldens criminals to perpetrate more crime, and bred lawlessness among the citizenry; developments which threaten the internal security of the State.
He said the need to safeguard the country’s collective security as a State required that “we work assiduously to eliminate all forms of injustice.”
The Minister said indeed, justice remained the only value that, together with freedom, had proven to be an effective abiding principle in uniting people of different backgrounds into a stable nation.
“This underscores the wisdom in the decision of our forebears to combine justice with freedom to form the country’s motto,” he said.
The Minister said discussions concerning National Security often evoked concepts such as peace, security, and stability.
“Strangely, although the concept of justice tends to be overlooked. Peace, security and stability could not be achieved without justice,” he added.
He said Justice was the foundation upon which the rule of law, equality before the law and fairness of the law were established.
The Minister said the ultimate responsibility in doing so rested squarely at the feet of members of Ghana’s judicial system which was entrusted, by law, with the power to ensure effective justice delivery.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the National Security Strategy called for closer collaboration between State security and intelligence agencies and the Judiciary to ensure swift and effective delivery of justice.
He said the strategy would promote complementarity in the execution of the mandates of both entities.
The Minister emphasised the readiness of the Ministry to support all activities of the Judiciary geared towards safeguarding the peace, security, and stability of Ghana.
Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah said the Ministry alone could not be entirely responsible for the implementation of the document.
He said while the threats were in a state of constant evolution, one thing remained constant and that was the fact that the law was one of the major tools that “we have to use to combat them.”
He said the decisions that were taken by national security officials must be done in the light of what was lawful and where there were conflicts between the rights of individuals and the security of the state, it was in the courtroom that those tensions would be resolved.
“This is why this interaction is absolutely essential. I wish to urge you therefore to commit to this process wholeheartedly and to engage frankly and enthusiastically with the officials from the National Security Ministry,” the Chief Justice added.
Source: GNA