A called judge

There are certain professions which if you are not called into it, your performance will be ordinary and it will become evident to most people that you are not enthusiastic about the job. 

However, for those that the profession is a calling to them, the difference is clear.  Their approach to handling of clients, their interpersonal relations disposition and the seriousness with which they approach issues, related to their profession, clearly demonstrate that they love what they do. 

When you go to some of our hospitals, with resident Doctors, some patients are unwilling to go to some particular consulting rooms due to what they have observed with the Doctor occupying that room. 

Professions like medicine, nursing, teaching, judiciary etc., if you are not called to be in that profession, you will be exposed, with time.  There are stories about some notorious Doctors in certain hospitals who are known for destroying the lives of their patients as well as some notoriously corrupt judges.

I had a conversation with my mum and an issue came up which reminded her of a story concerning a Judge, a High Court Judge she went to see to seek advice about an issue. This man was her elementary school classmate at Atibie Methodist, Kwahu. 

When she went to the court, she was told the man did not come to court that day and so my mum introduced herself to the gentleman at the office and requested him to call the Judge so she talks to him on phone. 

The man came back and told my mum that he had contacted the Judge and he says he should bring her to his house. When they got to the house, she was warmly received and she narrated why she wanted to see him. 

During the conversation, which ranged from archaeology to zoology as you can imagine, classmates who had not seen each other for quite some time, he shared with her some experiences in the courtroom.

According to my mum, the judge narrated instances when he had had to adjourn sitting for a brief spell to go into his chamber to pray for a witness because he perceived that, the witness was under a spell and was unable to narrate his evidence well or is completely confused. 

As a Christian, who is led by the Spirit of God, for justice to prevail, he had been compelled to do so on occasions.  How many judges, will do this in order for justice to prevail? 

This man clearly is called to be a judge and is not in the profession just to earn a living. lf you find yourself as an accused person, you can be sure that justice will be served and if indeed you are not guilty as charged, you would be acquitted and discharged. 

How I wish there were more of such judges at the bench. I believe there are some judges like that at the bench like my Pastor’s wife.  There is no way this lady would ever pervert justice for any reason. 

Unfortunately, there are some who are unscrupulous as you can ever imagine.

Until Anas’s exposé, judges were held in very high esteem.  In our eyes, they were the very embodiment of integrity.  You can imagine our shock as a nation, when it was revealed that some judges had misconducted themselves. 

Human nature having been corrupted through the fall of man from glory, most people have inherited a natural weakness in moral character and so are naturally corrupt. They therefore seek a position at the bench not because they so desire to contribute to the development of justice and therefore the entrenchment of the rule of law, but to pursue a selfish interest to enrich themselves. 

Some are so shameless that in a particular case of the Anas issue, one of the disgraced former judges, went to court, to challenge the registration status of Tiger Eye at the time they conducted the investigations that exposed him and the others.  God bless all the judges of integrity.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah