South African Press Agency -

 09/11/01 - Ghana judge wants 'eye for eye'

Ghana's acting Chief Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu caused a stir in Parliament on Wednesday when he stated his preference for capital punishment.

 "I believe in capital punishment, death for death. Your life should be taken on the basis that you killed," he told Parliament which is vetting him for the post of Chief Justice.

 Wiredu said there were instances where persons who had killed might be spared the death penalty but capital punishment was necessary, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported.

 Wiredu, who has been nominated by President John Kufuor, has been at the centre of controversy over his dismissal in the 1980s for alleged corruption and his disagreement with the government and journalists over the repeal of the criminal libel law.

 His views would clearly embarrass the government which is liberal- minded.

Wiredu, who was sacked by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1986 for alleged corruption, said he was reinstated after he petitioned former President Jerry Rawlings, who was chairperson of the council.

"It has never been my aim to make money else I would not have left private practice. I had then spent 17 years on the bench. I had requested to meet my accusers to tell my side of the story."

Wiredu was also a civilian Judge Advocate during the treason trial of Rawlings in 1979 when he was arrested for mutiny. He was sprung from jail on June 4 and led the first of two coups he staged in Ghana.

He said he would build a vibrant, dynamic and independent judiciary.