The National Democratic Congress has lashed out at the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, describing her decision to recommend judges for nomination to the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, on July 2, requested President Akufo-Addo to nominate some five Justices to the Supreme Court to manage the high number of current cases.
She defended this request citing the overwhelming number of cases the apex court handles.
However, during a press conference in Accra on July 4, the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey, mentioned that there is a deliberate collaboration between the Chief Justice and the President to use these judges to shield government wrongdoings and advance their parochial interests.
“Nowhere in the constitution is the Chief Justice named as the one to recommend persons to the president for appointment to the Supreme Court. We wish to state, without any equivocation, that the Chief Justice’s letter is illegal and of no effect.
“Her actions have completely turned over due process on its head and compromised her independence as the head of the judicial system. We are concerned about a worrying pattern that irresistibly suggests that the president is only appointing loyal members of his party to this court to have control over the judiciary to escape post-regime accountability,” he stated.
The names recommended for nomination to the Supreme Court include Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey, the presiding judge in the ambulance case involving Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as well as Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffuour, and Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah.