Akosua Manu, the Advisor on Gender and Social Protection to former Vice President, has raised fears about the nomination and parliamentary vetting of Supreme Court nominee, Anthony Forson Jnr concerning rape allegations against him.
She argued that the rape allegations made against Anthony Forson Jnr by Lawyer Kukua Andam were significant enough to warrant discussion during the vetting process.
According to Akosua Manu, the vetting process should have provided Justice Forson with an opportunity to directly address and clarify an allegation of rape.
Akosua Manu stressed that the accuser, Kukua Andam, should have been invited to participate in the process.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, August 29, Akosua Manu argued, “Justice Forson has an allegation of rape against him by one Kukua Andam. She is a lawyer who questioned his integrity. Kukua Andam should have been brought into the vetting.
“He [Justice Forson] is going for a vetting, and one of the allegations against him is rape, and it was important for him to clear the air on that issue, especially because of the position he is going to occupy. Otherwise, we downplay issues affecting women. It even signals negatively to victims of sexual misconduct. It would have been good for him to clear the air on what went on between him and the accuser.”
Akosua Manu argued that allegations of sexual misconduct, regardless of the person involved or the office, must be treated with seriousness.
Her comments followed Parliament’s approval of three nominees for appointment to the Supreme Court.
Parliament has approved the nominations of three individuals to the Supreme Court after all were recommended by the Appointments Committee and subsequently endorsed by the House, despite a dramatic boycott of the vetting process by the Minority Caucus.
The nominees include Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jnr, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association.
Earlier, the Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, during the vetting of Supreme Court nominees, once again clashed with First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor and Majority Chief Whip Rockson‑Nelson Dafeamekpor.
The heated confrontation flared between the Minority and Majority members of the Appointments Committee over the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees.
According to Alexander Afenyo‑Markin, both sides of the house had earlier agreed the nominees would be vetted in October, and questioned why that agreement had suddenly been changed.
The Minority leader, while addressing the Committee, was repeatedly interjected by Rockson‑Nelson Dafeamekpor.
Afenyo-Markin cautioned Dafeamekpor against allowing politics to “ruin him.”
He stated, “You are my mate. I was called before you. You are my study mate. And you know, my law is unsoiled. So, stop what you are doing. Etse, don’t let politics make you behave this way. I’ve raised an issue, and he cannot rule on it. It’s a motion. He should tell me where he can rule. We have to take a decision and vote”.
“He should tell me where he can rule. We have to take a decision and vote. Please. It’s not fair. We have a right of reply. Let us reply. He shouldn’t rush. Why are we doing this to ourselves? It’s not fair. Your own position in 2024. Ayariga, you were there. You said 14 days,” he said.
He continued: “Why three days? Why? And when we react, you start shouting and threatening us. And you started threatening us. What’s going on in this country? In today’s Ghana, you can’t talk.”
“They will threaten you, frustrate you. That’s what you are doing. That is what you are doing. Maintain your own principle. You act out of political convenience. Where is your principle? Ayariga is here,” Afenyo-Markin insisted.
@ghnow_ Ralph laments the poor state of Terminal 2, saying the facility has been left to deteriorate. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “You were my study mate, I was called before you” Minority Leader to Hon. Dafeamekpor #fyp #GHNow ♬ original sound – GHnow
