The Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako, has strongly criticized former President John Dramani Mahama's recent remarks concerning the judiciary, cautioning him against undermining public confidence in the country's legal system.
Former President Mahama, who is also the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), made these comments during the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the NDC on Saturday, September 2.
He alleged that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had intentionally appointed judges to the bench with the aim of ensuring their loyalty once he left office. Mahama called on NDC members to "balance out" the composition of the bench.
In response, Gary Nimako, during an interview on Eyewitness News expressed concern that such remarks could erode the trust Ghanaians have in the legal system.
He cautioned the former president to exercise restraint in his future commentary about the judiciary, describing Mahama's statements as "unfortunate."
Nimako also dismissed claims that appointed judges were serving the interests of President Akufo-Addo, saying, "It’s very unfortunate, it exposes their lack of understanding of how the court system works, they are making it appear as if the court deals with only political cases."
He went on to emphasize the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the judiciary, saying, "Let’s be careful not to destroy our institutions of state. The judiciary is a very sensitive institution in the history of our country."
Nimako questioned the NDC's proposal to "balance" the judiciary, asking whether they would create new courts if they came to power, given their doubts about the credibility of the current judiciary.
"Do you know that the NDC two-term 2009 MP for Amenfi Central is a high court judge in the Volta Region? If we decide to run the institutions down, it will not help. Will they create their own courts when they come to power?" he inquired.
Regarding the impartiality of the courts, Nimako stressed the importance of presenting solid evidence in legal cases.
He noted that cases lacking substantial evidence are likely to be dismissed, emphasizing that the courts are not politicized but rather dependent on the strength of the cases presented before them.
"Before you go to court, your evidence must be solid. You go to court without evidence, your case is thrown away and you come and say it’s politics," he asserted. "I don’t think the court is politicized now," he added.
Watch the launch of the 2023 GhanaWeb Excellence Awards on GhanaWeb TV below:
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako,