Ratifying African Court Protocol now – A call no African leader should ignore

President John Dramani Mahama has thrown a challenge to his fellow African heads of state that is as simple as it is profound: "You have nothing to fear from this Court."

Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Judicial Year of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in Arusha, Tanzania, the President delivered what could be described as a watershed address, one that combined personal vulnerability with continental vision, and historical reckoning with future aspiration.

The Daily Graphic wholeheartedly endorses his call and urges all African Union member states that have not yet ratified the Protocol establishing the Court to do so.

We further call upon those who have ratified but are yet to make the declaration, allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations direct access to take that crucial step.

Why the hesitation? Why the reluctance? The answer, uncomfortable as it may be, lies in the very point President Mahama made from his own life experience.

He stood before the continent's most senior jurists and spoke not as a head of state, but as "the child whose father was detained for serving his country and advising its leader." He spoke as "the boy who learned how dangerous it can be to challenge those in power, who may act with impunity."

Some African leaders fear the African Court precisely because they have done things, or witnessed things done by their predecessors, that would not stand scrutiny before an independent continental judicial body.

They fear accountability.

They fear that citizens who have been silenced by domestic systems might find a voice in Arusha.

They fear that the impunity President Mahama spoke of from personal experience might finally meet its match.

But here is the truth that such leaders must confront: A court that protects rights is not a court that persecutes leaders. It is a court that protects people.

And no leader who governs with the welfare of their people at heart has anything to fear from a body designed to uphold the very principles they swore to defend.

President Mahama reminded the gathering that Africa has produced martyrs, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Steve Biko, and exiled heroes such as Nana Prempeh I and Yaa Asantewaa.

These were victims of injustice, colonial and post-colonial.

Their suffering cries out for a mechanism that would ensure such tragedies are not repeated.

Had the African Court existed in its current form decades ago, would apartheid criminals have found sanctuary?

Would dictatorial regimes have crushed opposition with impunity?

Would citizens have been disappeared in the dead of night?

We cannot rewrite history, but we can shape the future.

The Court represents Africa's commitment to ensuring that never again will the continent's people suffer without recourse. Never again will families be left to wonder whether justice exists anywhere.

President Mahama's warning about looking to the so-called Global North as a model is particularly timely.

He described its democratic façade as "fast crumbling," with its judiciary losing independence and citizens being "disappeared by masked law enforcement."

Africa must chart its own path. We cannot measure our health by comparing ourselves to the sick.

The African Court offers us an opportunity to build something better, a truly independent continental judicial body that serves all citizens and is beholden to none.

This year marks the Court's 20th anniversary.

Two decades is long enough for hesitation.

Two decades is long enough for excuses. Two decades is long enough for leaders to watch from the sidelines while others embrace the continental justice system.

President Mahama has envisioned a future, the Court's 40th anniversary, when it will stand as "the leading international judicial body and a model for others."

That vision is achievable, but only if African leaders act now.

We are each other's keepers. This is not merely a rhetorical statement; it is the foundational principle of the African Union itself.

When one citizen's rights are violated anywhere on the continent, it diminishes all of us.

When one nation blocks access to justice, it weakens the entire architecture of African human rights protection.

President Mahama reminded everyone that the true wealth of nations is not measured in mineral deposits or oil reserves, but in "valued individuals, free from oppression, conflict, persecution, and violence, and assured of their rights to life, dignity, liberty, and self-determination."

This is the Africa our founders dreamt of. This is the Africa our martyrs died for.

This is the Africa our children deserve.

To the African leaders who have hesitated: President Mahama has spoken from experience.

He has led a nation. He understands the pressures and challenges of governance.

And he says you have nothing to fear.

To those who have ratified but withheld the declaration for direct access: Trust your people. Trust the Court.

Trust the principles you endorsed when you joined the African Union.

To all member states: Now is the time to meet the challenge of keeping the promises we have made to future generations—promises signed, pledged, and now waiting to be fulfilled.

Now is the time for Africa to step into its greatness.

Ratify the Protocol. Make the declaration. Grant your citizens access to the justice they deserve.

You have nothing to fear. But your people have everything to gain.