The Managing Editor of Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has described the Minority Leader’s [Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin] use of a Shakespearean quotation during the vetting of Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as “completely useless.”

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Pratt said he could not understand the relevance of the quote in the context of a parliamentary proceeding meant to communicate with the public.

“I watched the vetting. I studied literature and Shakespeare. So, when the Minority Leader opened his statement with a quotation from Shakespeare, I was sitting there wondering what he was trying to say. I couldn’t make head or tail of it,” he said.

Ministerial Nominees Vetting: 'Stop the comedy!' – Kwesi Pratt chides Afenyo-Markin

Pratt argued that while he personally reads and appreciates Shakespeare, most Ghanaians would not have understood the quote.

“How many of us have the capacity even to understand Shakespeare? Me, I’ve read Shakespeare, and I didn’t see the relevance. Parliamentary speeches should be understandable to your constituents. Do you believe even 10% of the population understood that quotation?” he asked.

He added that the quotation may have been intended to showcase the Minority Leader’s learning, but in terms of the substance of the vetting, it did not contribute meaningfully.

Quoting the line used by the Minority Leader, “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed” from Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7), Pratt admitted he himself could not see the connection.

Appointments committee is becoming a comedy show – Kwesi Pratt Jnr

“Even we have to go and read. Why do you punish us like this? We elected you to serve our interests, but now the language you speak is Greek to us,” he said, humorously stressing the need for MPs to use language accessible to the public.

Watch the video below

#CJVetting: Kwesi Pratt reacts to the Shakespeare quote from Afenyo-Markin #GoodMorningGhana #MetroTV pic.twitter.com/FrRYdspknO

— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) November 12, 2025