Prof. Agyeman-Duah urges constitutional review on appointment and removal of Chief Justice

Former United Nations Senior Governance Adviser, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has called on the Constitutional Review Committee to revise the current procedure for removing a Chief Justice in the country.

Speaking on JoyNews AM on Wednesday, Prof. Agyeman-Duah warned that the current process leaves the judiciary vulnerable to partisan political interference.

“Yesterday, also, I heard some NPP stalwart, also saying when we come to power, the Chief Justice will be sacked. We have to be serious about ourselves, I am concerned about this. We can decide, especially since we have an ongoing process to review the constitution, we must stay seriously about reviewing this, to take away from the Executive, the appointment of the Chief Justices.”

According to him, the Chief Justice, as one of the three heads of the arms of government, should not be subjected to political manoeuvring that undermines constitutional balance.

He stressed that the review committee must take steps to insulate the process from political manipulation by ensuring that only petitions with broad legitimacy can trigger proceedings.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah’s comments come in the wake of the removal of the Chief Justice by President John Mahama.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah, therefore urged the country to learn from the diaspora, especially from Kenya. “If you want a good example, go to Kenya, not America or Europe. Go to Kenya and see how they elect or select their Chief Justices, they have taken it away from the Executive.”

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