Information reaching The Daily Gist indicates that President John Dramani Mahama has nominated dismissed Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, and Court of Appeal Justice, Senyo Dzamefe as well as Dr Abdul Basit Aziz Bamba and two others to the Supreme Court bench.
The announcement is expected to be made in the coming weeks. While it may be surprising to some; it is steeped in a complex history of controversy, institutional reforms, and political dynamics with Mahama determined to pack the apex court with lackeys who may be pliable in his agenda to test the law for a possible third term tenure for the 2028 elections.
A Controversial Return
Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei made history in 2015 when she was appointed as the first female Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
She was reported to have been nominated to the Supreme Court earlier but was turned down by the Judicial Council, with president using his power to push her to the EC as the chairperson after her rejection.
Before this, she served as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and a board member of the Ghana Commercial Bank, GCB.
Her tenure at the EC, however, was cut short in June 2018 following her dismissal over allegations of procurement breaches and misconduct.
The dismissal, executed by President Nana Akufo-Addo, was based on recommendations from a committee established under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
The five-member committee, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Alfred Benin, included two justices—Samuel Marful-Sau and Agnes Dordzie—who were later appointed to the Supreme Court. Her two deputies, Georgina Opoku-Amankwa and Alhaji Amadu Sulley were equally dismissed by the committee.
The committee concluded that Charlotte Osei had engaged in misconduct and breaches of procurement laws, particularly in the lead-up to the 2016 elections.
However, Charlotte Osei’s dismissal did not go unchallenged. Two writs—one by private citizen Fafali Nyonator and another by journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako were filed before the Supreme Court, contesting the legality of her removal.
Despite the lingering legal questions, her nomination signals a potential reinstatement of her public stature and a formal return to Ghana’s judicial corridors.
She was recently appointed a member of the Constitutional Review Committee by President Mahama.
Her nomination, now appears to have earned her a second chance—this time at the apex court.
Justice Senyo Dzamefe
Justice Senyo Dzamefe, who currently serves on the Court of Appeal, brings with him a reputation of judicial leadership and administrative competence.
He was elected President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) in 2018, taking over from Justice Victor Ofoe.
Dzamefe is no stranger to presidential consideration. In 2015, during Mahama’s first term, his name surfaced as a possible successor to Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the then-outgoing EC Chairman.
Though that appointment never materialized, it confirmed his standing in legal and political circles.
His elevation to the Supreme Court now may be seen as the fulfillment of that earlier consideration.
Senyo Dzamefe also served in other national roles, including his chairmanship of the Dzamefe Commission, which investigated the Black Stars’ dismal performance and financial mismanagement at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
It was at the committee hearing that then Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah broke down in public, crying like a baby.
Basit Bamba
Dr Abdul Basit Aziz of Azizbambalaw is a private legal practitioner and a lecturer at the University of Ghana Law Faculty.
He was a member of John Mahama legal team in the two election petitions following the 2012 and 2020 disputed elections.
He was recently appointed a member of the General Legal Council by the Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine.
Basit Bamba might have earned his nomination by his political connections.
–BY Daniel Bampoe
