The Legal Counsel for the Minority Caucus in Parliament, John Darko, has slammed the Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, questioning his actions and behavior during the vetting of the Acting Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
According to him, Ayariga is equally a Member of Parliament, just like the other committee members, raising questions about his authority to determine who spoke during the vetting, when he was not the chairman.
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He made this known in an interview on JoyNews on November 10, 2025, after the Minority’s boycott of the vetting.
“… It’s just unfortunate that when we got there, the Majority Leader decided that he would take over the job of the Chairman of Appointment Committee and decide who speaks and decide who can say what. He said that under his watch he is not going to allow the venerable Afenyo-Markin to, in his view, breach the rules.
“And I’m asking myself, really, you are just an MP like us. You just happen to be a Majority Leader. Who gave you the power to decide which words to use in Parliament? Who gave you the power to decide who speaks? Who gave you the power to decide which words are right for Members of Parliament?” he said fuming.
Darko, also the Member of Parliament for Suame, indicated that the Minority’s intention was to appear at the vetting and actively participate.
He added that, contrary to claims that they were unprepared due to an earlier process filed by the Minority to halt the vetting, they were in fact ready with their questions.
“I think people are just speculating obviously because of all the issues but we had every intention of appearing and asking questions and so we went prepared. I had read some of the judgments of the learned Acting Chief Justice. I had seen his profile and I prepared my questions, so were my other colleagues,” he added.
Darko’s criticism of the Majority Leader follows a back-and-forth exchange with Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, with the latter arguing that his colleague was attempting to obstruct his work.
Afenyo-Markin referred to Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as a “disputed Chief Justice nominee” during his introductory comments at the vetting.
“We gather to vet the disputed nominee for the office of Chief Justice. This is a case of whether Ghana’s judiciary will remain independent,” Afenyo-Markin said.
However, Mahama Ayariga immediately objected to the characterisation.
“I am objecting to the term ‘disputed’ because there is no dispute regarding the nominee before us,” he said.
He dismissed claims that the Justice Gabriel Pwamang Committee, set up by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate petitions against Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, acted improperly, stressing that all proceedings followed constitutional and parliamentary rules.
CJ Vetting: ‘I will not allow you to breach an inch of the rules’ – Ayariga tells Afenyo-Markin
“The work of the proceedings, at no stage have you shown that the rules in the constitution governing the work of the committee, have been breached in any way. How can you come and sit here and describe the work as opaque, a travesty of justice, or an improper removal and expect me to allow that? You are clearly violating the rules. And when I try to guide you on how to go about your work, then you say that I’m trying to obstruct you,” Ayariga said.
MAG/AE
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