Forward from: Jawar Mohammed
The Chief Justice should apologize to the public and recuse herself from CCI
I have been saying that there is a major conflict of interest in the ongoing Council of Constitutional Inquiry (CCI) process meant to find a solution for the constitutional crisis. I did not want to name names but people have been asking me to do so. Let me just share some of the publicly available evidence. Look at this screenshot from April 8 which discloses that the person participated in a round table discussion meant to find a solution for the crisis and provide legal advice to the government. And this round table was chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Meaza Ashenafi who is also chair of the CCI. As I alluded to in my previous writings and interviews, I was aware of these meetings. The chief justice and some members of the CCI did convene/ participate in several of such round table meetings since early April and the government's four point proposal was the outcome of these discussions. Let me reiterate that the Chief Justices did not just participate in the deliberations leading to the drafting of the ruling party's position, she chaired it.
The Chief Justice should not have participated in such undertaking. Once she helped prepare the ruling party's position, she should have recused herself from chairing and even participating in the CCI hearings. Unfortunately she not only failed to recuse herself, she deliberately selected several of the same lawyers whom she gathered for the round table discussion that produced the ruling party's position to later serve as independent experts while deliberately excluding those who submitted briefs that did not align with the government's position. It is sad that a person whom we hoped would usher in independence of the judiciary chose to betray such trust in order to help the ruling party extend its term illegally. The Chief Justice and other members of CCI who compromised their independence in this process should immediately recuse themselves from the Council for their own good. Otherwise, they cannot expect any one to accept their recommendation as any thing serious. By engaging in such shameful act, they are exacerbating the crisis rather than helping find a legitimate solution. And mind, you these very people are going to decide over disputes. What a joke!
I have been saying that there is a major conflict of interest in the ongoing Council of Constitutional Inquiry (CCI) process meant to find a solution for the constitutional crisis. I did not want to name names but people have been asking me to do so. Let me just share some of the publicly available evidence. Look at this screenshot from April 8 which discloses that the person participated in a round table discussion meant to find a solution for the crisis and provide legal advice to the government. And this round table was chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Meaza Ashenafi who is also chair of the CCI. As I alluded to in my previous writings and interviews, I was aware of these meetings. The chief justice and some members of the CCI did convene/ participate in several of such round table meetings since early April and the government's four point proposal was the outcome of these discussions. Let me reiterate that the Chief Justices did not just participate in the deliberations leading to the drafting of the ruling party's position, she chaired it.
The Chief Justice should not have participated in such undertaking. Once she helped prepare the ruling party's position, she should have recused herself from chairing and even participating in the CCI hearings. Unfortunately she not only failed to recuse herself, she deliberately selected several of the same lawyers whom she gathered for the round table discussion that produced the ruling party's position to later serve as independent experts while deliberately excluding those who submitted briefs that did not align with the government's position. It is sad that a person whom we hoped would usher in independence of the judiciary chose to betray such trust in order to help the ruling party extend its term illegally. The Chief Justice and other members of CCI who compromised their independence in this process should immediately recuse themselves from the Council for their own good. Otherwise, they cannot expect any one to accept their recommendation as any thing serious. By engaging in such shameful act, they are exacerbating the crisis rather than helping find a legitimate solution. And mind, you these very people are going to decide over disputes. What a joke!