President Akufo-Addo has slammed his predecessor for his recent comment on the composition of the judiciary.
The president is of the assertion that the Judiciary is not politically biased, as suggested by former President John Dramani Mahama.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has selected individuals with close ties to the ruling party to hold positions within the judiciary.
Mr Mahama contended that President Akufo-Addo’s appointments to the judiciary seem to be a deliberate strategy aimed at installing judges who might lean toward his interests once his tenure ends.
The 2024 National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer proposed that the president’s actions are designed to protect himself from accountability once he finishes his term in office.
Mr Mahama said: “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.”
He made this assertion while addressing the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday, September 2.
Reacting to his comment at the 2023/2024 annual general conference of the Ghana Bar Association which began on Monday, September 11, President Akufo-Addo noted that such statements attack the integrity and independence of the Judiciary. According to the President, such comments must not be uttered by “an allegedly responsible politician of the 4th Republic.”
“He has told the world that I have packed the courts with so called NPP judges and that one of the key purposes of opposition NDC in 2024 will be to enable him to balance the courts with so called NDC judges.
“Not only are these concepts of “NPP NDC Judges” new in our public discourse, they are also extremely dangerous. They represent the most brazen attack on the Independence of the Judiciary by an allegedly responsible politician of the 4th Republic,” the president said.
This year’s conference is on the theme: “Ensuring High Standards and Integrity in Public Life: The Role of Legal Profession.”