There were lighthearted moments during the vetting of Supreme Court Judge nominee, Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, on Friday, June 20, when an attempt to recite the national pledge turned into a friendly struggle involving members of Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
The moment was triggered when Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, asked the nominee to recite the national pledge, following his call for Ghanaians to embrace patriotism in a remark during his vetting.
Caught off guard, Justice Ackaah-Boafo responded, “Mr. Chair, I am not sure I am able to recite it,” drawing laughter from the committee.
Chairman of the Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, immediately stepped in to defend the nominee’s honesty. “The nominee is honest to say that ‘I will not be able to recite it,’ so why will you insist? An honest answer has been given,” he said.
Unrelenting, Afenyo-Markin clarified, “I did not say that in spite of the fact that you said you cannot recite it in full, you should still recite it. I only said share with us those aspects that immediately come to mind.”
Justice Ackaah-Boafo then managed to recall only the first line of the pledge. Sensing his difficulty, Afenyo-Markin took it upon himself to recite the pledge line by line for the nominee to repeat — but even that didn’t go without its own challenge.
Chairman Ahiafor, observing the Minority Leader’s slight fumbles, teased, “But you are struggling too.”
To which Afenyo-Markin playfully responded, “If I am struggling, at least I have made an attempt.”
Ahiafor fired back in jest, “That is why I haven’t made any attempt — because I don’t want to struggle.”
The exchange drew laughter across the room, offering a rare moment of levity during what is typically a formal and serious exercise.