'Tribunals are prone to political manipulation' — Kofi Bentil cautions

A Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has cautioned that the newly passed Tribunals Bill, 2026 could expose Ghana's justice system to political manipulation.

His comments come after Parliament on July 16 passed the Tribunals Bill, 2026, introduced by Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr. Dominic Ayine.

The legislation seeks to re-establish and operationalize a modernized public tribunal system to reduce court backlogs, speed up justice delivery and activate dormant provisions under Articles 126 and 142 of the 1992 Constitution.

However, speaking on TV3's KeyPoints programme on Saturday, July 18, Bentil maintained that Ghana's past experience with tribunals should serve as a warning against reviving the system.

"I have no doubt that just as we've seen since Athens 2,500 years ago, and every tribunal system we have had in this country, if this is done, it is done simply because one, they have lax rules. The rules are not as strict as a normal court. Two, they are prone to political manipulation, and they will be politically manipulated," he argued.

The police analyst further questioned whether restoring tribunals should be a national priority when other constitutional obligations, such as improving access for persons with disabilities, remain unfulfilled.

He also argued that the slow pace of justice should not be used as justification for creating a parallel system with what he described as weaker safeguards, noting that reforms should strengthen existing courts rather than replace established judicial processes.

Responding to suggestions that constitutional safeguards on appointments would prevent abuse, Bentil said good legal provisions do not automatically guarantee good outcomes, adding that questions of integrity are often subjective.

He further claimed that Ghana's constitutional history should inform current decisions, noting that two constitutional review commissions had previously recommended against restoring tribunals.

"It is a bad argument to say it is in the constitution, so let's do it. Learn from your history; otherwise, you are bound to repeat its mistakes," he argued.