Former President John Dramani Mahama has alleged that the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has appointed individuals closely connected to the ruling party to serve in the judiciary.
Mahama asserted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s appointments to the bench appear to be a deliberate effort to place judges who may be inclined to align with his interests once he is no longer in office.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) suggested that this action by the president is intended to shield himself from accountability once his tenure concludes.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday, September 2, Mr. Mahama alleged that, “Currently, the judiciary is packed with NPP-inclined judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people onto the bench.”
“He has appointed the biggest number of judges onto the bench, it is more than 80 towards 100 and counting. You can see what the current president has done. He has packed the court, and we know they have packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office.”
Mahama urged members of the NDC to consider pursuing careers within the judiciary as a means to bring greater balance to the institution.
“So, I encourage some of you to look at careers on the bench so that we can balance out what the current situation is. We must be prepared as NDC legal persons to also go onto the bench so that we can balance out the judiciary,” he urged.