Now that the hullabaloo that was unleashed on this country by Dr. Kwabena Adjei’s unguarded comments has subsided, I think both the pro-NDC and anti-NDC elements have regained their level-headedness to come down to earth on the subject.
In the heat of the Nana Darkwa case, I published an article entitled “the who is who of political irresponsibility”. I pronounced the NPP guilty of the highest order of political irresponsibility in that saga. I used the minority’s boycott of parliament with a threat not to resume until Nana Darkwa’s case was discontinued as the basis for my verdict. I also speculated in the same article that the NDC was warming up to come up with a most irresponsible action that would make the NPP look like saints. It was just a matter of time when Dr. Kwabena Adjei turned my speculation into a fulfilled prophecy to which the NPP has shouted one of the loudest and longest AMENs I have ever heard.
Senior management positions come with the opportunity to learn how to see things from the perspectives of different professionals. I understand accountants who are most fascinated about the substance of events and transactions in much the same way as I understand marketing professionals who pay more attention to form. In other words, whilst accountants are excited by content, marketers make the greatest fuss about how it is wrapped. If I take it to the Christian realm, true PRIESTS and Christians are more concerned about the soul than they are about the body which is akin to the preference for substance over form.
Let us look at the substance of Dr. Kwabena Adjei’s comments. According to him, the judiciary appears to be professionally and morally corrupt and that something needs to be done about it to preserve the sanctity of the rule of law. The “form” of his statement is the threat-laden language he had used in expressing his party’s concerns. I am sure accountants and true priests who are substance minded professionals will support Kwabena Adjei’s call for something to be done about the substantive allegation. Of course nobody can begrudge the political marketeers who successfully hijacked the wrapper of the allegation to make such a propaganda meal that can only be compared to George Bush’s propaganda on Sadam Hussein’s non-existent nuclear weapons.
Every non-NDC person I have heard comment on Dr. Adjei’s statement chose to do so only in respect of the form without even a casual reference to the substance. I however think it should be equally important for us as a people to be interested in knowing whether the judiciary is truly corrupt or not. If they are not, let us say so and warn Kwabena Adjei to desist from soiling their good name. On the other hand, if they are, let us take appropriate constitutional steps to sanitize the system. If we don’t know, let us get the appropriate investigative body to investigate the allegation to establish its veracity or otherwise.
It is absolutely important for us to know the truth because if there is indeed corruption in the judiciary, it may constitute a far bigger threat to the survival of our democracy than Dr. Kwabena Adjei’s empty threats. I am not a political scientist but in my view, the judiciary is the gatekeeper of any democratic system and as such holds the key to its success or failure. Members of the judiciary should therefore not only live above reproach but should also be seen by society as living above reproach so as to preserve our faith in them.
Some of us also think the NPP should be getting worried that all their high ranking members who have had any brash with the law, ONLY get acquitted on technical grounds. Others are even beginning to think aloud that if Amoateng had been tried in Ghana for his narcotic offences, a brilliant NPP lawyer (or is it a brilliant judge?) would have got him freed on technical grounds. We want to see more of the NPP folks being cleared of substantive charges leveled against them. We now know that they have fantastic legal brains so we don’t need any further proof of that. What we need to confirm now is that their hands are indeed clean – no legal hanky-pankies!
I would also like the NDC to know that they should never again build manifestoes on the pillars of imprisoning their political opponents. It is too an enemy-centred approach to governance which is not productive. What is more, it is not entirely in their power to do so. They are better off concentrating their energies on the things that are under their total control. The clock is ticking and I hope they have learnt their lessons.

Mathias Dorfe
mdorfe@hotmail.com