Parliament has approved seven justices to serve on the Supreme Court.
They include Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Justice Gbeil Simon Suurbaareh and Justice Philip Bright Mensah.
The rest are Justice Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo, Justice Hafisata Amaleboba and Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.
The approval of the seven, who currently serve on the Court of Appeal bench, came after the House had adopted the report of the 11-member Appointments Committee on the nominees.
At the committee level, all the Minority members opposed and voted against the nomination of all the justices, while the Majority members voted in favour of all the nominees.
Motion
Moving the motion, the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, entreated the House to unanimously adopt the committee’s report.
He said upon careful deliberation, the committee noted that all the nominees demonstrated outstanding competence, deep knowledge of the law and a firm grasp of judicial ethics.
Mr Ahiafor said the nominees addressed questions posed by the committee members with professionalism, clarity and intellectual rigour, reflecting their capacity to uphold the independence, integrity and dignity of the highest court of the land.
“The committee is satisfied that the nominees possess the requisite qualifications, judicial temperament and commitment to constitutional values expected of justices of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Mr Ahiafor, who is also the First Deputy Speaker, said all Minority members were opposed to and voted against the nomination of all the justices on several grounds.
He said the Minority members said the appointment of seven new justices was inconsistent with the suspension of the Chief Justice, stating that it was not about filling vacancies, but reshaping the constitutional order.
He also cited the Minority members as saying they were of the view that the Supreme Court abdicated its constitutional duty and remained silent when fundamental principles of natural justice were being violated.
“The NDC had previously opposed the nomination of two justices, citing judicial bloat,” he quoted the Minority as saying.
He, however, said the Majority members voted in favour of all the nominees.
“The committee, therefore, recommends to the House, by majority decision, the adoption of this report and the approval of the nominees,” Mr Ahiafor averred.
President acted constitutionally
Supporting the motion, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, said at no point had it been canvassed that the President had acted unconstitutionally in appointing the nominee Justices.
He said listening to the Minority Leader and other Minority members, they all clearly confirmed that the nominees were very competent as stipulated in the Appointments Committee’s report.
“Mr Speaker, on the basis of the committee’s recommendation, I do not think we should belabour the point about whether or not we should approve these nominees.
“They are obviously qualified, capable, competent and will do the work. I want to assure the Minority Leader that all the questions he had asked have been answered in the report,” Mr Ayariga said.
Opposition
Opposing the motion, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said without doubt the Justices distinguished themselves before the Appointments Committee.
He, however, said there was a constitutional crisis in the consideration of the nominees.
“Even as we debate these appointments, our Chief Justice sits suspended through procedurally questionable processes that make a mockery of Articles 146 and 296 of our Constitution.
“Let us be abundantly clear about what we are witnessing; it is an Executive that suspends one Chief Justice, while simultaneously installing seven new Justices,” the Minority Leader averred.
Such a move, he said, was not a routine of filling vacancies but rather orchestrating a fundamental reshaping of the constitutional order.
“It is the reason why, without any urgency, the report was laid today and the government is in a rush to take this report and use its might in numbers to approve it,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
The move, he said, smacked of the Executive overreach of the Judiciary and could undermine the independence of the Judiciary.
Previous appointments
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, said within the eight years of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he appointed 15 Supreme Court Justices, 48 Court of Appeal Justices and 113 High Court Justices.
“Mr Speaker, after making all these appointments, in the dying days of the tenure as President, Mr Akufo-Addo anticipated that some Justices would be retiring and he then brought nominations to this House in order that when they retired, he would still have the numbers that he wanted to have on the Bench,” he said.
Context
President John Dramani Mahama nominated the seven Justices of the Court of Appeal for consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court bench in accordance with Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution.
The nominations were announced through a letter dated April 29, 2025, and signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, and addressed to the acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
Source: graphiconline.com
