The Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko, has defended Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin‘s controversial request for Deputy Attorney General and Justice Minister-designate, Justice Srem-Sai, to perform a cultural dance during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
Darko insists that Afenyo-Markin’s request was not intended to demean the nominee but rather to connect with him on a personal level and help Ghanaians learn more about his cultural background.
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The vetting session, held on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, took an unexpected turn when Afenyo-Markin argued that cultural appreciation should be part of the process and asked Srem-Sai to dance. However, Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor overruled the request, calling it inappropriate. This led to a heated exchange, with Afenyo-Markin accusing Ahiafor of being “whimsical and capricious” in his handling of proceedings.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, John Darko backed Afenyo-Markin, arguing that vetting is not only about professional qualifications but also about understanding a nominee’s background and personality.
“To determine the suitability of a person, you take a lot of things into consideration. There was even a question about where he came from,” Darko explained.
He emphasized that such questions help introduce nominees to the public, stating, “His name is Justice Srem-Sai, and that doesn’t sound like the traditional name you would expect from someone coming from the Volta Region. The Minority Leader and Ghanaians don’t know him, so he was trying to get to know him better.”
