Oye Lithur: I never met, communicated with any judge

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, has described as untrue and preposterous the allegation that she contacted and influenced the judges who sat on the recent presidential election petition.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I have never met, communicated or had any discussion with any judge with a view to influencing the outcome of the presidential election petition,” she stated.

In a statement in response to allegations suggesting that she met the justices before the judgement was read out, Nana Oye Lithur said: “For the record, I do not have any sort of relationship with any of the judges who sat on the petition, which would form the basis of any discussion or meeting with any of them in relation to it,” she said in a statement.

According to her, anybody who has had the slightest acquaintance with her would have been astonished by the suggestion that “I would attempt to subvert the course of justice by interfering with the judicial process.”

She said her professional life as a human rights lawyer and activist had been built around due process and insistence on the integrity of the judiciary.

“I believe that is the surest way of protecting the rights I have fought for most of my working life,” she said, stressing that the “suggestion therefore that I would participate in compromising the judiciary is utterly outrageous to me.”

In a related development, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has described the allegation against Nana Oye Lithur as a “complete fabrication”.

According to him, “no attempt whatsoever was made by the Minister or any public official of this government to influence or interfere with the Supreme Court’s adjudication of the case,” he said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.

“This government has the utmost respect for the rule of law, and is committed to upholding and furthering Ghana’s role on the African continent as a shining example of election transparency and peaceful transitions of power, as well as our role as a leader in democratic governance,” he said.

“There is no iota of truth that Nana Oye Lithur met the justices of the Supreme Court. They never had a meeting,” he said.

According to him, the only connection that Nana Oye Lithur had with the case was the fact that her husband, Tony Lithur, was the President’s lawyer.

A Deputy Communications Minister, Ms Victoria Hammah, was relieved of her post last Friday.

Although the letter did not state why she was fired, it was believed that a leaked tape on which Ms. Hammah was heard discussing internal government and party issues was the reason for her sacking.

Daily Graphic/Ghana