Vikileaks: Allegations Are Untrue And Outrageous-Oye Lithur

Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has dismissed as �untrue and preposterous�, allegations that she influenced judges who sat on the presidential election petition case at the Supreme Court. �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�, the Minister said in a press statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday. She further indicated that she had never met, communicated or had any discussion with any judge with a view to influencing the outcome of the presidential election petition. The Minister stated that anybody who had had the slightest acquaintance with her would have been astonished by the suggestion that she would attempt to subvert the course of justice by interfering with the judicial process. �My professional life as a human rights lawyer and activist has been built around due process and insistence on the integrity of the Judiciary�, she maintained. She reiterated her belief in due process as the surest way of protecting the rights she had fought for most of her working life. �The suggestion therefore that I would participate in compromising the Judiciary is utterly outrageous to me�, she added. It would be recalled that the Friday, November 8, 2013 edition of the Daily Guide newspaper, as well as other media networks, carried a story which alleged that Ms. Victoria Hammah, the former Deputy Minister of Communication had said in a taped conversation that the Social Protection Minister had contacted and influenced judges who sat on the presidential election petition case whose verdict was pronounced by the Supreme Court on August 29.