Nana Akomea, the Managing Director of the State Transport Corporation (STC), has posited that former President John Dramani Mahama should have been cited for contempt of court over recent comments regarding judges in the country.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo on September 12, 2023, he argued that the court should have summoned Mahama to identify judges who allegedly belong to certain political parties.
He cautioned Mahama against making statements that could incite the people of the country against the judiciary.
"Apart from the court, he (Mahama) said that the Electoral Commission is biased. But we remember that when he was president; he said that if you are an Electoral Commissioner or president, there is no way you can influence results.
"He gave interviews explaining how transparent and accountable our electoral systems are. He stated that even as president, there is no way he could influence election results.
"Today, he is saying that the Electoral Commissioner can influence the election. There is no consistency, no principle in John Mahama, so what he said is bad, and he should stop."
Nana Akomea highlighted that Mahama, during his presidency, had lost many cases in court.
He then questioned the former president's stance, stating, "When Akufo-Addo hadn't appointed anybody to the court when President Mahama was in office, he lost many cases in court. So, what about that? Who appointed those judges?
"So, he should stop making such statements because when you do that, you are inciting people against the court. If the court calls you for contempt due to your statements, you will have to respond.
"I believe they should have called him for contempt to come and substantiate the claims of political party affiliations of the judges."
Akomea's remarks come in response to Mahama's assertions regarding political affiliations among judges.
John Dramani Mahama had called for a balancing out of Ghana's bench which he says is currently packed with persons who are sympathetic to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He called on lawyers in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to prepare themselves to get onto the bench in order to balance out the massive appointments Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made onto the bench in the last seven years.
“You can see what the current president has done, he has appointed the biggest number of judges onto the bench, it is more than 80 towards 100 and counting," he noted in a virtual address to the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the NDC on Saturday, September 2.
“He has packed the court and we know they have packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. We must be prepared as NDC legal persons to also go onto the bench so that we can balance out the judiciary.
“Currently, the judiciary is packed with NPP-inclined judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people on to the bench.
“So, I encourage some of you to look at careers on the bench so that we can balance out what the current situation is,” he added.
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