Samuel Koku Anyidoho, a former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has berated recent comments about a partisan judiciary as alleged by former president John Dramani Mahama.
Anyidoho, an avowed critic to Mahama and his bid to return as president after 2024, said the view of Mahama will not be countenanced by former NDC presidents – Jerry John Rwawlings and John Evans Atta Mills.
Mahama is on record to have called on NDC lawyers to accept roles on the bench in order to “balance out” the manner in which the current government has packed the courts.
Anyidoho holds that the view as advanced by Mahama was scary, unacceptable and a dangerous mindset for Ghana’s democracy.
His views were posted in a series of tweets on September 2, 2023; hours after Mahama had addressed a gathering of NDC lawyers.
“When I read stuff like this, my heart bleeds especially because of what President Atta-Mills stood for vis his aversion to politicizing the law. He says he will balance the equation with political lawyers – so there will be nothing new to offer. Ghana does not need vengeance!
“This is highly unacceptable and I believe it is extremely dangerous for our democracy if we allow such mindsets to run amok. I am NDC and I do not support this mindset of brazenly politicizing our justice system because it will lead us into an endless pit of moral destruction.
“It is very scary that the Leader of JJ Rawlings’ NDC is not telling us how he intends to build a Better Ghana but is gleefully shouting about “balancing equation” on the Bench. I am really scared!!! I fear for the future of this country if this is the way forward,” he added.
What Mahama said:
“You can see what the current president has done, he has appointed the biggest number of judges onto the bench, it is more than 80 towards 100 and counting,” he noted in a virtual address to the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the NDC on Saturday, September 2.
“He has packed the court and we know they have packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. We must be prepared as NDC legal persons to also go onto the bench so that we can balance out the judiciary.
“Currently, the judiciary is packed with NPP-inclined judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people on to the bench.
“So, I encourage some of you to look at careers on the bench so that we can balance out what the current situation is,” he added.
The issue of appointments onto the bench has been topical under this government with allegations that politically exposed people have been appointed by the president.
Ghanaweb.com
