Former Supreme Court Justice, Justice William Atuguba says the appointment of judges into the judiciary should be done on merits and not any other political considerations as that does not auger well for its public image.

According to him, for the Judiciary and other independent state agencies to be effective in executing their mandate, proper and thorough considerations must be made.

Speaking at a public lecture held on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, the retired Supreme Court judge insisted that until that is done, such institutions cannot be independent as they ought to be.

“Appointments to the Judiciary or any other governance institution must be made by thoroughly independent bodies based on nothing but merit and not on things like protocol, cronyism, ethnicity, or other improper considerations."

“The governance institutions, particularly the Judiciary must be realistically insulated against presidential and other political pressures. Service conditions must be reasonably attractive and security of tenure of office must be enshrined. The Executive Powers of the President and his functionaries must be drastically curtailed."

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"There must be a real separation of parliament from the Executive branch. The emphasis should be on good and sincere governance in the interest of the people and not on hollow over exaggerated notions of electoral conferment of power on anybody or a group of persons."

Justice Atuguba also added that the Judiciary's image is reflected on social media and that it needs a restructuring to regain same.

“The current public image of the Judiciary in Ghana is reflected on Social Media. In view of all this what matters most is the realistic auditing and restructuring of the Judiciary and indeed all other governmental institutions because just as the cyanide of illegal mining galamsey has devastated our forest lands and poisoned our water bodies so also has the cyanide of Political Corruption poisoned our Governance Institutions.