The Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko has defended Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin over his controversial request for Deputy Attorney General and Justice Minister-designate, Justice Srem-Sai, to demonstrate a cultural dance during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
According to Darko, Afenyo-Markin’s request was an attempt to connect with the nominee on a personal level and help Ghanaians learn more about him.
The vetting session on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, was unexpectedly cut short following a heated exchange between Appointments Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor and Afenyo-Markin. The dispute arose when Afenyo-Markin asked Justice Srem-Sai to dance, arguing that cultural appreciation was an essential aspect of the vetting process.
“We are here to learn about our country. It is also about our culture,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
Chairman Ahiafor, however, overruled the request, deeming it inappropriate. This led to resistance from Afenyo-Markin, who accused the Chairman of being “whimsical and capricious” in his handling of proceedings.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, John Darko justified Afenyo-Markin’s approach, insisting that it was not a trivial request but a way to introduce the nominee to the public.
“There are more things we look out for than what you see. So for me, you may not see this question as unnecessary. It will not even be the determining factor of his approval. It is just for the people of Ghana to get to know him,” he explained.
He emphasized that the vetting process goes beyond legal and professional qualifications, stating that a nominee’s background and personality are also considered.
“To determine the suitability of a person, you take a lot of things into consideration. There was even a question of where he came from… So, we want to know the person very well, and he [Afenyo-Markin] went on culture after asking him several other questions.
“The people of Ghana want to know. His name is Justice Srem-Sai, and that doesn’t sound like the traditional name you would expect from a person coming from the Volta Region. I know Srem-Sai, but the Minority Leader and Ghanaians don’t know him. So, he was trying to get to know him by asking him all of those questions.”