“I don’t know where or how the judge at Circuit Court 9 even passed his law exams.” “I have no respect for him.” “That NDC judge should be ashamed of himself.” “I pray he cites me for contempt.”
Those words were spoken by Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin. The target was a sitting judge. The danger is to Ghana.
This is the same Minority Leader who was then majority leader, in October 2023, filed an urgent ex-parte application before the Supreme Court. He challenged the Speaker of Parliament’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant. He invoked the Court’s original jurisdiction under Article 2 and Article 130 of the 1992 Constitution, arguing that the matter needed immediate interpretation to avoid a constitutional crisis.
The Court moved. Then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo exercised her administrative discretion and empaneled justices within hours. A full Supreme Court panel sat on a weekend. Legal observers called it unprecedented speed for an emergency filing. Afenyo-Markin’s request was heard and granted. The legal system worked, and it worked fast for him.
That is the contradiction. The same politician who benefits from the Court’s fastest lane turns around to brand a lower court judge as incompetent, attach party colors to him, and dare the judiciary to cite him for contempt.
This is not criticism of a judgment. This is contempt for an institution.
The Double Standard
Every day, ordinary Ghanaians wait months for court dates. Market traders, drivers, and teachers do not get weekend panels. When they lose a case, the law says appeal. It does not say insult the judge. Contempt charges are real for them.
Politicians use the same law. Yet when a ruling goes against their side, the response is often to label judges as “NDC” or “NPP,” hold press conferences, and rally party supporters to attack the bench. The message to the public is clear: Courts are useful when they favor me, and corrupt when they don’t.
Why This Hurts Ghana
1. It erodes judicial independence. Judges are human. If every ruling brings personal attacks and party tags, impartiality is threatened. Fear of political backlash is not justice.
2. It weakens respect for the rule of law. When leaders model contempt, citizens follow. Land disputes, chieftaincy clashes, and electoral disagreements turn violent because people believe “the court won’t help.”
3. It damages our democracy’s image. Investors and development partners monitor the strength of institutions. A judiciary seen as a political football makes Ghana look unstable.
Criticize the Ruling, Not the Robe
Legal criticism is healthy. Lawyers file appeals. Academics write reviews. Parliament debates laws. That is accountability. Calling a judge an “NDC judge” and questioning how he passed law school is not accountability. It is intimidation.
Afenyo-Markin is both a senior legislator and a lawyer. He knows the difference. He knows how to access the Court at 10pm on a Saturday. He cannot then delegitimize a Circuit Court judge on Monday morning and expect public trust in the judiciary to survive.
The 1992 Constitution has endured because, even in anger, leaders defended the institutions. The bench is not NDC or NPP. It is Ghanaian. If we break it with partisan labels and public ridicule, we will all answer to the chaos that follows.
You cannot run to the Supreme Court for emergency justice on a weekend, then spit on a judge during the week. That is not principle. That is hypocrisy. And hypocrisy at this level endangers the Republic.