The former CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Senyo Hosi, has appealed to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to uphold respect for Supreme Court rulings, especially following the contentious Afenyo Markin vs. The Speaker case.
In his recent open letter to the Speaker, he cautioned that disregarding a Supreme Court decision would not only compromise Ghana’s democratic principles but could also amount to what he termed a “high crime.”
“Our Constitution grants the Supreme Court ultimate adjudicative authority,” Mr. Hosi writes, adding that ignoring these rulings would be tantamount to “setting a dangerous precedent for institutional disobedience.”
The letter warns that failing to uphold judicial authority could lead to broader societal anarchy.
Mr. Hosi notes that a divided government defying the judiciary’s authority risks emboldening citizens and institutions alike to flout laws and disregard judicial rulings, fostering instability.
His stance is rooted in his conviction that adherence to the judicial system is vital for a healthy democracy. He states, “Our governance structures must exemplify unity in respecting judicial authority to preserve the sanctity of our Constitution.”
Mr. Hosi empathizes with the Speaker’s frustrations but argues that judicial rulings, even if flawed, provide a stabilizing structure necessary for societal order.
He urges the Speaker to resist partisan calls for defiance, stressing, “The mere existence of a flaw in a court’s decision does not necessarily mean it should be disobeyed… Disobedience resets our governance systems to a primordial anarchic state.”