National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has dismissed suggestions that President John Dramani Mahama is attempting to politically “balance” the Supreme Court with his latest judicial appointments.
Speaking in an interview, Vanderpuye clarified that Mahama never pledged to tilt the judiciary for political gain but rather encouraged lawyers to consider careers on the bench to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s judicial system.
“President Mahama never said anywhere that when he becomes President, he will balance”.
He explained that President Mahama had advised lawyers to transition from the bar to the bench, ensuring that when their time comes, they can be promoted to the Supreme Court based on merit rather than political considerations.
“He gave advice to our lawyers and said he is encouraging them to move from the bar to the bench, so that when their time is due, they can also be promoted to the Supreme Court, so that we’ll balance the perception that the government was packing the Supreme Court with its apparatchiks”.
Vanderpuye welcomed the nomination of seven new Justices to the Supreme Court, noting that public discourse has shifted toward the qualifications of the nominees rather than their political affiliations.
“I’m happy one thing that my brother mentioned the issue of justification for the need for more Judges. No one disputed the fact that there was justification for new Judges. People were interested in the character and the background of the Judges who were being proposed”.
He pointed to the positive reception of Justice Sir Dennis Adjei’s nomination as an example, highlighting that even unexpected commentators have praised the appointment as long overdue.
“Look, seven Judges have just been mentioned. From yesterday up to today, I have not heard anywhere a word about any of the seven Judges. In fact, people that I do not expect to comment are even commenting about somebody like Justice Sir Dennis Adjei, and they say it was long overdue, and that people who were far his juniors on the Appeals Court have become Supreme Court Judges”.
