It's upsetting when people label judges as NDC or NPP – Former CJ Sophia Akuffo

A former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has criticised former President John Mahama for saying that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has packed the judiciary with judges inclined to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and that when he becomes President again, he would also make appointments to ‘balance’ those made by President Akufo-Addo.

Justice Sophia Akuffo, who served as a judge for many years before she was appointed Chief Justice by President Akufo-Addo, wondered whether when John Mahama was President he also appointed judges inclined to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), adding that the former President’s comments have a potential to undermine the judiciary.

Speaking in a recent interview with Accra-based Asaase Radio, Ms. Akuffo noted that he found partisan accusations against judges upsetting.

“He[ former President John Mahama] has been through the process of appointing other people before. So was it that because they were NDC?” she quizzed.

"It always," she continued, "upsets me when you get comments like: “Oh! This one is the NPP judge “Oh! This one is NDC”. And yet you have never seen the person on any party’s rally or platforms…

"And these are some of the unnecessary pressures that are put on the judiciary. What difference will that tag make to me, my career and my work?" she wondered.

Former President John Mahama had accused President Akufo-Addo of accusing so many judges into the superior courts of the country, asking lawyers inclined to the NDC to ready themselves for appointments to the bench when he becomes President again.

But President Akufo-Addo hit back at him, saying that his criticism was unhealthy for the judiciary.