Veteran lawyer Mr Ansa-Asare has strongly criticised Ghana’s system for appointing Chief Justices, describing it as deeply flawed and inconsistent with the traditions of the legal profession.
The seasoned legal practitioner expressed dissatisfaction with how political influence has infiltrated what he considers a sacred process reserved for the most senior and deserving judges.
“I have had problems with the way our Chief Justices have been selected in this country,” he stated on the KSM show monitored by MyNewsGh.
“The selection process is very, very flawed.”
Mr. Ansa-Asare argued that the former president, who is himself a lawyer, should have upheld the long-standing professional convention of seniority in such appointments.
“The former president should have respected the tradition of the profession in the selection process,” he stressed.
He explained that when the former Chief Justice retired, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was the most senior member of the Supreme Court, followed by Justices Pwamang and Lovelace Johnson. Yet, he said, the appointment went to a much more junior justice, Tokonoo.
“The former president took Tokonoo out of ten from nowhere to the enviable position,” he lamented.
The lawyer described the appointment as a clear deviation from due process and legal culture.
“Any other government apart from Nana’s would not have tolerated that kind of abuse,” he asserted, describing the move as politically driven rather than merit-based.
