Private Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu has advocated the cancellation of an in-camera hearing of petitions against the removal of a Chief Justice.
He explained that in the spirit of accountability, Ghanaians must get to know what accusations have been levelled against a sitting Chief Justice.
Speaking in an interview with the media, Thursday, June 26, 2025, Kpebu noted that gone are the days when the Judiciary is viewed as sacrosanct and cannot be criticised, however, he believes that the country’s political system has evolved.
Martin Kpebu argued that an in-camera hearing does not augur well for the country’s democracy as times have evolved.
“The in-camera hearing is not good for our democracy at all. We’ve grown, when it was put in there, I hear it was 33 years ago but now we have evolved as a people and we are still evolving, we are getting refined day by day.
“Right now, it is no longer good for us because we want accountability right so if the Chief Justice is being held accountable, we should see.
“Those days you couldn’t even talk about the Judiciary but now we have grown…For accountability purposes, this in-camera hearing has to go,” he stated.
He continued: “So that you know from day one that if a Judge takes office will know that when I do anything wrong today, it goes to court and people can come and watch it.
Mr. Kpebu stressed that “when it is guaranteed to be a secretive hearing, it is not conducive for accountability”.
Citing the US Judicial system, he noted when a Judge in the US is involved in such a case, it is dealt with in Congress, openly for people to see.
Article 146 (8) of the 1992 constitution stipulates that a petition against the removal of a Chief Justice must be heard in-camera.
