Minority Leader Osahen Afenyo-Markin has said the recent nomination of seven justices to the Supreme Court soon after the Chief Justice has been suspended appears to be more of institutional capture of the Judiciary rather than the routine filling of vacancies.
“We convene whilst our Chief Justice sits suspended through procedurally questionable processes under Articles 146 and 296. An executive that suspends one Chief Justice whilst installing seven new justices is not filling vacancies—it is reshaping the constitutional order. The appearance of institutional capture is inevitable and constitutionally catastrophic.
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“The Supreme Court has abdicated its constitutional duty, repeatedly refusing to intervene when fundamental principles of natural justice face systematic violation. This institutional cowardice is constitutionally inexcusable. You will inherit a Court that retreated into comfortable silence when courage was demanded”, the Minority Leader noted in his opening remarks at the commencement of the vetting of the said seven justices to the Supreme Court upon Parliamentary approval.
His comments did not go without a rebuttal from the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga who opined that what Afenyo-Markin had said and the forum it was said were both inappropriate.
“This is not the appropriate platform to question the process surrounding the suspension of Justice Getrude Torkornoo …The process has been followed diligently, and even legal attempts to challenge it in the Supreme Court have failed”, Ayariga noted
According to Afenyo-Markin, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led Government has been hypocritical in its position on the nomination of justices to the supreme court.
He explained: “The same NDC that relentlessly opposed Justice Sophia Bernasko Essah and Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong’s nominations under President Akufo-Addo—crying that the Court was “bloated”—now presents seven nominees simultaneously. Where was their concern about court size then? This gross dishonesty and rank opportunism insults our intelligence and constitutional processes.
“When two very qualified justices sought appointment, the NDC screamed about judicial bloat. Now, with seven nominees, they discover urgent constitutional necessity. Such breathtaking inconsistency exposes an administration driven by political calculation, not constitutional principle.”
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The Minority Leader called on the nominees to be fair and firm in their line of duty if and when they are approved to the Supreme Court bench.
“To our nominees: you seek to join an institution whose legitimacy rests on public confidence in your constitutional fidelity. You must become guardians of our fundamental law, not instruments of executive convenience. The Supreme Court’s authority derives from moral standing, not political alignment.
“True judicial independence requires constitutional courage—deciding cases on law and precedent, not political preference. It means protecting minority rights against majoritarian excess. It means sometimes disappointing those who appointed you because the Constitution demands nothing less”, Afenyo-Markin noted.
