Claim : The president has appointed 120 judges within one year and six months.
Source: Awal Mohammed, NPP communicator
Verdict: False
Researched by Charlotte Gbonsu
President John Dramani Mahama has been accused of packing the courts because of the number of judges he has appointed since he came into office in January 2025.
Awal Mohammed, a member of New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Communications Team on the July 12, 2026 made the court packing claim on Joy News’ AM Show saying: ‘The overarching thing is that justice is not just to be done, it must be manifestly seen to be done. The optics are very important and that’s very important now because the president has appointed 120 judges within one year (and) six months, 120 judges.”
He also claimed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in their 2024 manifesto promised to cap the number of Supreme Court justices at 15 “today, we are around 19 judges.”
RelatedNews
The appointment of judges came up within the context of discussions around the legal vacation controversy, following the Chief Justice’s directive that specific judges sit throughout the vacation period, a directive the Ghana Bar Association and affected lawyers have protested against on stated grounds.
The legal vacation is a rest period for members of the legal community, normally taken from August 1 to September 30 as provided under Order 79, Rule 4 of High Court (Civil Procedures) Rules, 2004 (C.I.47).
This fact-check will verify the claim by Awal Mohammed about John Mahama’s appointment of judges.
Fact-check
GhanaFact reviewed the number of judges appointed over the last 18 months. On July 3, 2025 President Mahama swore in seven justices of the Supreme Court. Three months later, on October 2, 2025, the president swore in 21 justices of the Court of Appeal, while on October 24, 2025; 37 High Court judges were sworn into office.
| Courts | Date of Appointment | Oath administered by | Number of Judges |
| Supreme Court | July 3, 2025 | President Mahama | 7 |
| Court of Appeal | October 2, 2025 | President Mahama | 21 |
| High Court | October 24, 2025 | President Mahama | 37 |
| Total | 65 | ||
Awal counts Circuit Court judges as presidential appointees
GhanaFact traced Awal Mohammed’s tally of 120 appointees to a post on his Facebook page where he counted as appointees of the president 52 Circuit Court judges sworn into office on January 22, 2026 by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe Bonnie.
According to Article 148 of Ghana’s Constitution of Ghana, the power to appoint Circuit Court judges is vested in the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice acts on the advice of the Judicial Council subject to the President’s approval. Hence, the appointment of Circuit Court judges cannot be counted as an appointment by President Mahama, making the total appointment by President John Dramani Mahama 65.
GhanaFact further spoke to two lawyers requesting interpretation of Article 148. The first lawyer, Ekow Arthur-Aidoo told GhanaFact: “Oh it is simple; per the Constitution i.e Article 148 – the Judicial Council will recommend – CJ will appoint and President will approve the appointment. In effect, Circuit Court judges are appointed by the Chief Justice.”
On his part, lawyer Samson Anyenini also affirmed that the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council are responsible for the appointment of Circuit Court judges.
When the appointments of President Mahama are collated the total is 65 judges. This means that the number of appointments made to the courts does not amount to 120 judges.
Additionally, three individuals nominated by President Mahama to serve as Supreme Court justices, are yet to be vetted and go through parliamentary approval before they can be sworn into office. Even if these nominees are added to the 65 judges already sworn in, the total will be 68 not 120.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim that President John Mahama has appointed 120 judges in 18 months is rated false!
