FACT-CHECK: Mahama has not appointed 120 judges in 18 months as NPP communicator claims

Claim

President John Dramani Mahama has been accused of packing the courts because of the number of judges he has appointed since he came into office in January 2025.

Awal Mohammed, a member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Communications Team, on July 12, 2026, made the court-packing claim on Joy News’ AM Show, saying: “The overarching thing is that justice is not just to be done, it must be manifestly seen to be done. The optics are very important and that’s very important now because the president has appointed 120 judges within one year (and) six months, 120 judges.”

He also claimed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2024 manifesto promised to cap the number of Supreme Court justices at 15. “Today, we are around 19 judges.”

The appointment of judges came up within the context of discussions around the legal vacation controversy, following the Chief Justice’s directive that specific judges sit throughout the vacation period, a directive the Ghana Bar Association and affected lawyers have protested against on stated grounds.

The legal vacation is a rest period for members of the legal community, normally taken from August 1 to September 30, as provided under Order 79, Rule 4 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47).

This fact-check will verify the claim by Awal Mohammed about John Mahama’s appointment of judges.

Fact-check

GhanaFact reviewed the number of judges appointed over the last 18 months. On July 3, 2025, President Mahama swore in seven justices of the Supreme Court. Three months later, on October 2, 2025, the president swore in 21 justices of the Court of Appeal, while on October 24, 2025, 37 High Court judges were sworn into office.

Awal counts Circuit Court judges as presidential appointees

GhanaFact traced Awal Mohammed’s tally of 120 appointees to a post on his Facebook page, where he counted as appointees of the president 52 Circuit Court judges sworn into office on January 22, 2026, by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.

According to Article 148 of Ghana’s Constitution, the power to appoint Circuit Court judges is vested in the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice acts on the advice of the Judicial Council, subject to the President’s approval. Hence, the appointment of Circuit Court judges cannot be counted as an appointment by President Mahama, making the total number of appointments by President John Dramani Mahama 65.



GhanaFact further spoke to two lawyers, requesting an interpretation of Article 148. The first lawyer, Ekow Arthur-Aidoo, told GhanaFact: “Oh, it is simple; per the Constitution, i.e. Article 148 – the Judicial Council will recommend – CJ will appoint and President will approve the appointment. In effect, Circuit Court judges are appointed by the Chief Justice.”

On his part, lawyer Samson Anyenini also affirmed that the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council are responsible for the appointment of Circuit Court judges.

When the appointments by President Mahama are collated, the total is 65 judges. This means that the number of appointments made to the courts does not amount to 120 judges.

Additionally, three individuals nominated by President Mahama to serve as Supreme Court justices are yet to be vetted and go through parliamentary approval before they can be sworn into office. Even if these nominees are added to the 65 judges already sworn in, the total will be 68, not 120.

Verdict

Therefore, the claim that President John Mahama has appointed 120 judges in 18 months is rated false!