President John Dramani Mahama has raised concerns about weakening judicial independence in parts of the world, citing increasing executive interference.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Judicial Year and the 20th anniversary of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha on March 2, President Mahama warned that institutions once regarded as pillars of democracy are facing serious decline.
“If you look beyond Africa, what you find is that that facade of the so-called Global North, a group of countries that have long held themselves up as beacons of democracy and human rights, of liberty, justice, and the rule of law, is fast crumbling. Judiciaries are no longer independent,” he pointed out.
The President added that, “Citizens and lawful residents are… placed without due process indefinitely in detention centers. We see executive overreach and a steady weakening of legislative independence. We see violations of international law.”
He also pointed to what he described as growing restrictions on civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and protests, which he said are contributing to a decline in public trust in governance systems.
“Restrictions are being placed on freedom of speech, assembly, and protest. There’s a general loss of liberties and a sharp decline in public trust in governments. As Julius Nyerere famously said, one does not judge one’s state of health by comparing yourself to a sick person. For far too long, we’ve compared ourselves to the West and used what we believe were their standards as our benchmarks for all our endeavors. The reality we see today should serve as a clear call to action,” President Mahama noted.
He also stressed to need for African leaders to take advantage of technology.
“Technological advances have made the world feel like a small place. At no other time in our lifetime was that more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time the World Health Organization announced the discovery of a new virus in Wuhan, China, that virus was already on an aeroplane to Johannesburg.
It was already present in Accra, on the roadside, as individuals waited for a trotro at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, or seated towards the rear of a ‘Dollar Dollar’ en route to Ngarantoni,”President Mahama said.
