Africa-Press – Ghana. The Majority Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said that the decision of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Gertrude Torkornoo to recommend five Justices for appointment to the Supreme Court comes on the back of multiple cases the Supreme Court is always saddled with.
He explained that Ghana’s Supreme Court is not being packed as others would want us to believe.
“It is instructive to note that, since independence, we have allowed institutions to grow. Even before 2019, Ghana had only Ten Regions. As we speak, we have an additional six making it sixteen,” he said at a press conference in Parliament on Monday, July 8.
His comments come at a time when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is accusing Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and President Akufo-Addo of packing the Supreme Court with the recommendation of five Justices to be added to the Supreme Court Justices.
The President’s recommendation follows a letter by the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaba Torkonoo to President Akufo-Addo requesting for the addition of five more Judges.
General Secretary of the NDC, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey in a press conference on Thursday, July 4 described the recommendation as an affront to Ghana’s democracy.
He noted that President Akufo-Addo together with the Chief Justice are conniving to impose a “direct threat to Ghana’s Judicial system.”
“This isn’t just a political maneuver of an already exiting failed President; it’s an assault on our democracy, a betrayal of public trust.
According to the NDC, the addition of the five Judges to the Supreme Court Justices will only contribute to creating “judiciary that is no longer a check on executive power, but a mere extension of it.”
“This is not the Ghana our forefathers fought for; this is not the democracy we pledged to uphold. Our nation deserves better, and it is our duty to stand up and protect the very foundations of our democratic society,” Fiifi Kwetey stated.
But the Majority Leader who is also lawmaker for Effutu said “The argument by the NDC that our Supreme Court is being packed or heaped is untenable having regard to its multifaceted jurisdictions unlike the United States and U.K. To conclude, I wish to state that, the apex court of our land must be allowed to go through reformation through expansion in terms of numbers.
“This is because, the minimum number oof Supreme Court judges as set out in the 1992 constitution is evidence of the fact that, the framers of the constitution in their wisdom had anticipated that, there will be a future need to increase the number of judges in our Supreme Court, this is the reason why, they settled on a minimum number and not a maximum number as provided for in the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”
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