Anti-graft crusader, Vitus Azeem is calling on Ghanaians to condemn former president, John Dramani Mahama’s comment, suggesting that he will appoint judges sympathetic to the NDC onto the bench if he is elected president again.
According to Mr. Vitus Azeem, piling the law courts with people, who are partisan, could erode the country’s democratic gains and thus, must be resisted.
“We the citizens must speak out loudly against it and resist it if he attempts to do it and apart from we the ordinary people, the judiciary itself must come out and condemn this statement. That may help to prevent him or curb this kind of practice where all state institutions are being politicized,” he stated.
Mr. Mahama, speaking at the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the NDC last Saturday, accused president Akufo-Addo and his government of piling the country’s law courts with judges inclined to the governing party.
He claimed the government, since it assumed power, appointed about 80 of such judges and may appoint more.
This, he said, is being done to help members of the government avoid accountability when they leave office.
But that, Mr. Mahama stated, is an anomaly which his party must correct and thus, urged party members to endeavour to take up careers on the bench so as to balance the numbers.
Reacting in an interview on State of Our Nation, Vitus Azeem described the former president’s utterances as unfortunate.
He stated that the comment by the former leader could trigger more of such appointments by the current government and divide the bench along partisan lines and financially burden the country should a future NDC government toe same line.
“It’s not the best coming from him especially as you are in opposition. It means before Nana Akufo-Addo leaves office especially if his party loses elections, he will now bring more people to pack the judiciary ans it will be a burden on the state coffers because they retire on salaries. Secondly, they will be fighting among themselves”.
He wondered why Mr. Mahama and his party who seeking to return to power will think of repeating the sins of the current administration.
“When you vote for somebody new, you are voting for a change, you don’t expect the person to follow the same track. So I’m really very surprised that Mahama would make that statement even in public”.
