Flagbearer hopeful for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has expressed disappointment in President John Dramani Mahama’s handling of key state institutions, cautioning that political interference in the military and judiciary threatens Ghana’s democratic stability.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, October 22, Agyepong said he was particularly concerned about what he described as the President’s “tinkering” with vital state institutions that are meant to remain independent and apolitical.
“I am a bit more disappointed in our current president, the way he dealt with the army, which I felt was touching a very vital state institution,” he said. “So I feel very uncomfortable when I see presidents tinker with state institutions.”
Agyepong added that his concerns extend beyond the military to include the judiciary, stressing that the balance of power among the executive, legislature, and judiciary must be maintained to safeguard democratic governance.
“Not only that, [he] moved on to the judiciary, which is one of the three legs of our democracy,” Agyepong noted. “I think that the idea that one leg of democracy can take over the other is something that all of us have to repudiate and find a way to protect.”
His comments come after President Mahama, on September 1, 2025, acting under Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution, removed the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, from office.
The decision followed the report of the Committee of Inquiry established under Article 146(6) of the Constitution to investigate a petition submitted by Ghanaian citizen Daniel Ofori calling for the removal of the Chief Justice.
After examining the petition, extensive evidence, and testimonies, the Committee concluded that the allegations of misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been sufficiently proven and recommended her removal from office.
Earlier in March 2025, the President made sweeping changes to the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). The shake-up, announced on Monday, March 17, 2025, saw the removal of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, and the Chief of Air Staff.
Additionally, 12 of the most senior officers, holding ranks of Major-General and above—including 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star Generals—were also dismissed.
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