John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) 2024 presidential candidate, has received harsh criticism from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his recent attack on the judiciary.
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The attack, according to President Akufo-Addo, is “extremely dangerous” for the independence of the court.
Thus, he urged Ghanaians to oppose the former President’s attempt for reelection in 2024.
He stated, “Not only are these concepts of ‘NPP’ and ‘NDC’ judges new in our public discourse, but they are also extremely dangerous,” on September 11 at the 23rd Ghana Bar Association Annual Conference in Cape Coast.
And are the most blatant assault on the judiciary’s independence by any ostensibly responsible politician of the Fourth Republic.
“They give yet another reason, if more were needed, why right-thinking citizens should ensure the demise in 2024 of the man who the first Special Prosecutor identified as Government Official No. 1 in the still open Airbus Bribery Scandal,” the author writes.
This follows former president Mahama’s weekend call for NDC-aligned attorneys to prepare for bench appointments in order to “balance out what the current situation is.”
On Saturday, September 2, the three-time presidential candidate made a speech at the NDC’s third annual lawyers conference, accusing President Akufo-Addo of selecting the most judges.
“You can see what the current president has done,” he said.
“He has appointed the most judges to the bench—more than 80, with 100 more on the way.
He has the court crowded, and we can infer that they are trying to evade responsibility once they leave office by doing so.
Therefore, he gave the NDC lawyers instructions to get ready for similar appointments when he returns to the president.
“In order to balance the court, we NDC legal professionals must be ready to serve on the bench as well.
The government has a deliberate policy of appointing its people to the bench, therefore the judiciary is currently stacked with justices that lean toward the NPP.
Therefore, I urge a few of you to consider bench positions so that we can balance out the current situation.
