Special aide to former President Mahama, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has defended the comments made by the former President regarding the balancing of judges at the country’s courts.
Mr. Mahama accused Nana Akufo-Addo of packing the Courts with NPP loyalists and encouraged NDC lawyers to make themselves ready to join the bench.
This comment has been met with severe criticism from the Ghana Bar Association.
Addressing this year’s Bar conference, President Akufo-Addo also condemned the comments, describing it as “dangerous for Ghana’s democracy”.
However, in a sharp rebuttal, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu maintained that “former President Mahama was justified in his comments”.
He cited a number of former NPP Communicators and Executives who have been appointed Judges to buttress his point.
According to Felix, President Akufo-Addo is deliberately staffing state institutions so he can have his way when out of power.
Mr Mahama while speaking at the NDC Lawyers Conference in Akosombo over the weekend, accused President Akufo-Addo of appointing members of his party to the bench to influence decisions in their favour.
The 2024 NDC presidential candidate thus charged NDC lawyers to prepare themselves to take up positions on the bench to balance out its composition.
“Our lawyers, some of you must be prepared to go onto the bench. I know that some of you have very lucrative legal practices you will not want to leave and go onto the bench. But you can see what the current President has done; he appointed the largest number of judges onto the bench. More than 80 towards hundred and counting.”
“He’s packed the courts and we know that they’ve packed the courts because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. So, all manner of people who have been known to be partisan, to have been executives of their party who are in the legal profession have been leapfrogged onto the Superior courts and other places.”
