President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed loyalists of the New Patriotic Party to our courts to have control of the judiciary and escape post-regime accountability, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged.
The allegation was levelled against the President by Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, General Secretary of the NDC, at a press conference on Thursday, July 4, 2024.
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, has written to President Akufo-Addo, asking him to nominate five judges to the Supreme Court.
The names of the judges that have been recommended for the nomination are the current judge presiding over the Ato Forson ambulance trial, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey.
The four other judges are Justice Afia Asare Botwe, Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffuour and Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah.
The letter dated May 30, 2024 read “Justice Asante’s term of office at the ECOWAS court ended on July 31, 2022, and was “requested to remain at post on account of the withdrawal of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso from the community.”
It said “his current tenure is expected to end in 2026 or earlier when he is expected to return to Ghana’s Judiciary.”
The chief scribe of the NDC described it as a deliberate politicisation of independent state institutions warning that it could negatively impact the peace of the country.
This was in response to the names submitted to the President by the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo to be appointed as Supreme Court Judges.
He said: “We are concerned about a worrying pattern which irresistibly suggests that the President is appointing only loyalists of his party to these courts to have control of the judiciary and escape post-regime accountability. It is also very clear that the President is packing the courts ahead of the impending presidential and parliamentary elections with judges who are sympathetic to his party.
“Such deliberate politicisation and bastardisation of independent institutions of state, including the judiciary, can negatively impact the peace and stability of our democracy.”
“It is trite knowledge that without a fair and impartial judiciary, democracy and constitutionalism suffer. That is why this must be an issue of huge national concern as it adds to the many other issues that already pose threats to the peace and stability of Ghana’s democracy,” he added.
Source: rainbowradioonline.com
