Anti-graft crusader, Vitus Azeem has described as unfortunate former president, John Dramani Mahama’s suggestion of balancing the judiciary with judges sympathetic to his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mr. Azeem said such a move is detrimental to the country’s democracy and will further burden the state’s coffers if countenance.
“You will be destroying the culture of democracy, checks and balances. So I didn’t expect the former president to make this statement. There will be chaos. Because NPP has done that, you are saying if you come, you will also do that and where are we headed to. If we have 30 supreme court judges, what we will they be doing?” he questioned.
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, has 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, Mr. Azeem said the former leader’s comment, if entertained, could further divide the bench into partisan lines and financially burden the country as many judges will be appointed in attempt to balance the numbers.
While expressing surprise at the utterances of the former president, he called on the populace to condemn the comment and resist any move to pack the courts with known partisan people.
“We the citizens must speak out loudly against 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”.
