The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of appointing New Patriotic Party loyalists to the judiciary to maintain control over the courts and avoid accountability after his tenure.
This follows Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s recommendation of five judges for the Supreme Court.
At a press conference on Thursday, NDC General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey expressed concerns about the president’s pattern of judicial appointments, warning that such politicization of independent institutions could undermine national peace.
Mr. Kwetey stressed that the issue of appointing judges to the Supreme Court should be of significant national concern.
“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 stated.
