Minority leader and MP for Effutu constituency Alexander Afenyo-Markin has come out strongly against President John Mahama’s recent nomination of seven Court of Appeal judges to the Supreme Court, calling it a thinly veiled attempt to extend his influence and implement what he termed a “third-term agenda.”
Addressing the media at a New Patriotic Party (NPP) press conference on Thursday, May 1, Afenyo-Markin said the president’s actions raise serious concerns about the independence of the judiciary and the future of Ghana’s democracy.
“This is not a routine judicial appointment. What we are witnessing is a strategic and deliberate effort to pack the Supreme Court with loyalists,” he said.
His remarks follow a major political shake-up, in which President Mahama suspended the Chief Justice before putting forward the new nominations. Afenyo-Markin sees this as more than a coincidence.
“The nomination of seven Appeals Court judges immediately after suspending the Chief Justice reveals a deeper, more dangerous political ambition a third-term agenda in disguise,” he warned.
He accused the president of eroding democratic norms and threatening the very foundation of constitutional governance. According to him, the current developments could severely damage public confidence in the judiciary and compromise its independence.
“This is not how a responsible government strengthens the rule of law. This is how a government tightens its grip on power through the backdoor,” he stated.
Afenyo-Markin urged civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, and ordinary Ghanaians to remain alert and vocal in the face of what he called an “assault on the judiciary.”
“We must not be silent,” he emphasized. “This is a national issue that transcends partisan lines. The integrity of our justice system is at stake, and we must resist any attempt to convert it into a political tool.”
