Akufo-Addo’s Governance Responsible for Chief Justice’s Predicament – Benjamin Quashie

Chairman of the NDC Council of Elders in South Africa, Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, has weighed in on the controversies surrounding the Chief Justice and the committee formed to investigate her.

In an interview on Kessben TV, Accra, on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Mr. Quashie stated that the Chief Justice should not have allowed her situation to escalate to this point, laying the blame squarely on what he described as the “reckless governance” of former President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Commenting on the reactions of NPP-aligned lawyers, Mr. Quashie expressed astonishment at what he termed their hypocrisy. He urged them to direct their concerns to Akufo-Addo, stating, “They should go to Akufo-Addo’s house in Nima and tell him his recklessness is what led us here,” while warning them against making unnecessary remarks on the matter.

Explaining Akufo-Addo’s so-called recklessness, Mr. Quashie recalled how, on May 9, 2018, the then-President suspended four High Court judges, and later controversially dismissed both the Electoral Commission Chair, Charlotte Osei, and the Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo. He questioned where the now out-spoken NPP lawyers were during those times, suggesting their conscience was “asleep.”

Mr. Quashie emphasized that NDC leaders had long warned about the bad precedent Akufo-Addo was setting, but their concerns were ignored — and now, the consequences are evident.

He also criticized the Supreme Court’s rulings, describing them as overly predictable and blaming it on Akufo-Addo’s appointments, which he claimed stacked the bench with loyalists. According to Mr. Quashie, the Supreme Court has now become a burden on Ghanaians.

“If Akufo-Addo’s mass appointments were justified, then President Mahama would equally be justified in removing them,” he insisted.

Mr. Quashie concluded by defending President Mahama’s involvement in the petition, stating that Mahama’s actions are fully within Ghana’s legal framework.