Minority walks out of Supreme Court nominees vetting over “rushed” process
Tensions Erupt at Parliamentary Appointments Committee as Chairman Clashes with Minority Leader
The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Thursday, August 27, 2026, walked out of the Appointments Committee’s vetting of three Supreme Court nominees.
The walkout followed objections by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who described the process as rushed and procedurally improper.
The three nominees are Court of Appeal Justices Sophia Rosetta Obuokuwa Bernasko-Essah and Justice Edward Amoako Asante, as well as private legal practitioner and former Ghana Bar Association President, Anthony Forson Jnr.
Addressing the committee, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority was not opposed to the nominees or to President John Dramani Mahama’s constitutional authority to nominate justices to the Supreme Court.
He said the objection was to the vetting timetable. According to him, the nominations were announced on August 21 and subsequently brought before Parliament on Monday, August 24, during its emergency recall, leaving only three days for scrutiny.
Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that there was no vacancy on the Supreme Court bench to justify the haste, noting that the Court currently has its full complement of justices and that the three nominees are being appointed as additional justices.
“If there is no vacancy to fill, there is certainly no emergency compelling anyone to fill it inside three days. There is no fire here”, he stated.
He added that since 1992, Supreme Court nominees had generally been given at least 14 days’ public notice for the submission of a memorandum, and warned that the rushed vetting could affect the legitimacy of the nominees if appointed.
“Every ruling those three justices have ever made will be met by a question: Were you properly vetted?” he said.
However, Appointments Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor dismissed the Minority’s objections as baseless and proceeded with the vetting.
The Minority has maintained that it will participate in the vetting of the two ministerial nominees; Mahama Ayariga, nominated as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, nominated as Minister for Environment, Science and Technology.
Source: MyJoyOnline
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