Kumasi, July 1, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, has stressed the need for judges to administer justice without fear or favour to promote peace, happiness and rule of law that are necessary ingredients for national development. He described the killing of the three High Court Judges in 1982, for instance, as a heinous and barbaric act that should be condemned in no uncertain terms since they were discharging their duties in line with the constitution. Mr Owusu-Ansah, who was speaking at the commemoration of the 25th Martyr's Day by the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Bar Association in Kumasi, said under no circumstance should any individual or institution harass, intimidate or oppress judges in the course of their duties.

The three High Court Judges whose deaths are being commemorated were Mr Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, Mr Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie and Mrs. Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow. Paying glowing tribute to the late judges whose gruesome murder shocked the entire nation, the Ashanti Regional Minister described them as honest, faithful and having good sense of judgment and expressed the hope that such barbaric acts would never be repeated in the nation's history. died in the service of the country and we hereby acknowledge and salute them as martyrs of the rule of law', he said. Mr Owusu-Ansah appealed to the government and adherers of rule of law to re-visit the report of the Special Investigations Board that probed the murder so as to unravel the mystery and the agenda behind the act.

The Most Reverend Peter Akwasi Sarpong, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kumasi, in a sermon described the murder of the judges as senseless and pathetic. He stressed the need for judges to uphold the code of ethics of the judiciary and refrain from bribery and corruption. 01 July 07