Today, I return to my subject integrity. Integrity, the quality of being honest, ought to be a habit, a default conduct.

It ought to be a human, not Black or White, not Christian and not Moslem character or virtue. Don’t offer a bribe and don’t accept a bribe. Don’t tell a lie, don’t mislead, cheat and don’t encourage wrong and unlawful conduct. These ought to come to us naturally.

There is everything wrong with the very fibre of our society if a natural virtue becomes rare and celebrated because only a few demonstrate it.

Ghana’s judiciary was in the eye of the storm when Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ secret cameras caught judges and court officers selling justice. The few corrupt unworthy judges lost their jobs, and are unable today to lift their heads in society. Tiger Eye certainly put its secret cameras in the courts because of years of accusations of judicial corruption.

I have had cause to ask if Ghana was a failed State. This was when a regional minister was applauded by some for his unconstitutional and criminal conduct in supervising the violation of the dignity of citizens by making them squat and sweep dusty streets and flogging some publicly for failing to use a footbridge.

The law prescribing punishment, upon prosecution in a court, for that offence was completely abandoned as officials turned themselves into police and court.

This week, National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah told judges that when justice delivery is seen to be ineffective or tainted, the security of the State is in serious danger. “If the interpretation of the law is so much tilted in our favour [he means the NPP government?] all the time, people will start accusing the judiciary and will not have the confidence that they need.”

This month has seen some headlines about the Right to Information Act 2019, Act 989 in Ghana. Two weeks ago, the Information Minister was in Parliament bemoaning how only 224 RTI requests have been made since the law became operational in 2020.

I don’t know Justice Abdulai enough to vouch for him. But I felt hurt when the NPP labelled him as NDC in an attempt to question his motive for taking up a suit whose outcome they celebrate – a Deputy Speaker can be counted to form quorum and vote to decide matters in Parliament.