In a two-hour timeframe, a total of 2,319 comments were recorded across the social media pages of the three major media houses in Ghana namely Metro TV, TV3, and Citi FM. These comments were in reaction to the President’s comments regarding the impartiality of judges’ appointments.
Here are the key findings:
Commenter Sentiments
Only three commenters expressed support for the president’s comment at the GBA annual conference. 5 commenters neither supported nor opposed the President’s statement. A total of 17 commenters disagreed with the President’s assertion, suggesting that political affiliations influenced judicial appointments whilst a vast majority of comments, 2,294, were unrelated to the discussed topics, consisting of product and service advertisements and general salutations to the show’s hosts and guests.
Engagement Levels
Despite a high level of viewership on the social media pages of these media houses, the number of comments directly addressing the discussed issue remained notably low. This may indicate passive viewership without active participation in the discussion.
Content Quality
Many comments were not relevant to the topic at hand, primarily comprising salutations, advertisements, and unrelated issues. This prevalence of non-relevant content made it challenging to gauge the true sentiments of viewers on the issue.
Public Opinion
It is evident that a segment of the Ghanaian population questions the transparency of judicial appointments and calls for constitutional reform to enhance the independence and transparency of the judiciary.
One may also add that these sentiments may have emanated from the premise of the impact of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas exposé on the judiciary a few years ago. The expose which uncovered widespread cases of bribery, influence peddling, and ethical breaches among judges and court officials, shook the foundation of faith that citizens had in the impartiality and integrity of the judicial system and this attributed to a significant erosion of trust in Ghana’s judiciary system.
In summary, from the responses gathered, we can conclude that Ghanaians harbour doubts regarding the transparency of judicial appointments and advocate for constitutional reforms regarding the appointment and selection of judges to consolidate the trust in our judicial systems.
