Mahama’s ‘balancing judiciary appointments’ comment fair and objective

Edudzi Tamakloe, the director of legal affairs for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has defended former president John Mahama’s claim that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is purportedly filling the courts with judges who are inclined toward the NPP and his advice to NDC lawyers to prepare to balance the composition.

The 2024 NDC presidential contender said that President Akufo-Addo appointed members of his party to the bench in order to influence rulings in their favor during a speech at the NDC Lawyers Conference in Akosombo over the weekend.

Thus, in order to equalize the bench’s makeup, he commanded NDC attorneys to get ready to apply for openings.

“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 court and we know that they’ve packed the court 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.”

However, his remarks have drawn criticism, with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) specifically calling him out.

Saviour Kudze, the GBA’s public relations officer, claims that Mr. Mahama’s statement is improper and unsupported by facts.

While there is nothing improper in Mr. Mahama encouraging a group of attorneys who have identified themselves as NDC attorneys to accept positions on the bench, criticizing the same judiciary—an essential institution that he hopes to oversee as President in the future—is incorrect, the man claimed.

Edudzi Tamakloe, director of legal affairs for the NDC, disagrees with Mr. Mahama’s detractors and was present at the NDC attorneys’ meeting.

On Monday, September 4, the private legal practitioner explained why a group of attorneys has decided to identify as NDC attorneys, stating that no legislation prevents them from doing so. He was speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen program.

He claims that the NDC has a variety of professional organizations operating under one roof who utilize their knowledge to advance the party’s objectives.

He said that the topic of discussion at this third annual gathering of the lawyers—which numbered around 150 people—was how they might best support the NDC’s triumph in 2024.

“The NDC is not a proscribed criminal organization. Anybody is permitted to associate with it freely. In this country, per our laws, the only organization you cannot associate with freely is a criminal organization.”

The promising young attorney believed that Mr. Mahama’s remarks were appropriate.

“This is one of the fairest and most objective comments I have heard. Many times in this country, there is so much hypocrisy and that’s what we worship. We don’t like the truth, and so when you speak the truth too much, you even become a dangerous person in the community. You are seen as dangerous not because you’ve stolen from anyone, but because you have spoken the truth that no one can speak.”

“And if you listened to John Mahama, he added that it is not going to be business as usual. Even in the Bible, God’s word says a false balance is an abomination. What we all need to know is that justice delivery emanates from the people; justice delivery is founded on strong public confidence” he added.

To support Mr. Mahama’s remarks, Mr. Tamakloe cited a period when the current National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah, openly urged judges to address accusations of bias in their decisions, which often favor the ruling administration.

“So, if a particular perception is developing, anyone who loves our democracy ought to speak” he argued.

“With Mahama now, he’s not in to please anyone’s ego. He says we’ve gotten to a point where we need to have a balance; and if you don’t agree with him, he’s spoken his mind. He [Mahama] says we need to have a balance in the system because the result will take all of us down, but because he doesn’t want it that way; he’s making us alert now. People are quiet, we see the truth but we don’t speak about it and it is destroying the country.”

“John Dramani Mahama says he is been a president before; the brassiness, the impunity in this country. It creates an impression that some people have a certain immunity and so they do what they want. Some people are behaving like they will never be accountable in this country, and Mr. John Mahama is saying that it will never happen again” he noted.

The presenter of Ekosii Sen, O.B. questioned Mr. Mahama about whether or not his plan to “Build the Ghana we want” was in conflict with his promotion of a repetition of the exact thing he is denouncing. “We firmly believe that building the Ghana we want is one that requires fairness, balance, and objectivity,” Edudzie Tamakloe shot back.

“And so we believe that the perception is rife out there, and one of the ways to kill that perception is a semblance that the system can be fair; a Ghana where any other Ghanaian will feel that he’s part of the conversation in this country” he added.