President Akufo Addo today appointed an openly partisan lawyer to the High Court as a judge, in what reinforcing accusations that the President is packing the judiciary with compromised judges who would protect him and his party loyalists.
The President today swore in 16 judges into the High Court and among them is a lawyer called Ernest Yao Gaewo.
Whatsup News is finding out that Justice Gaewo is a dye-in-the-wool loyalist of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and had on several occasions contested parliamentary seats on the ticket of the NPP.
In 2016, Justice Gaewo, whose certificate number at the Bar is VR 09586/15, contested as the parliamentary candidate for Ho Central in the Volta Region.
Earlier, he had contested the Ho West seat under the NPP but on both occasions, he lost to his rivals.
Whatsup News has seen his political posters showing his picture placed beside that of President Akufo Addo.
Critics, are warning that the adamant behaviour of the President to pack the judiciary with perceived party loyalists is compromising judicial independence in Ghana.
Indeed, this trend was demonstrated recently when the NPP Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong launched a serious verbal attack at a trial judge currently sitting on a case involving Ken Agyapong.
Insiders tell of how President Akufo Addo had stepped in to manipulate the Chief Justice Anim Yeboah, to ensure that Ken Agyapong walks free from the serious case of judicial contempt.