Chief Justice Row: Catholic Bishops reject NPP’S resignation demands

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has defended Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie against calls for his resignation, urging Ghanaians to focus on protecting judicial independence.

The Conference’s position follows demands by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Chief Justice to step down over comments he made during recent visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

The NPP argued that the remarks, particularly references to developments over the “past eight years,” created the impression that the Chief Justice was taking a political position and undermining the neutrality expected of the Judiciary.

However, in a statement issued on September 6, the Catholic Bishops said the circumstances surrounding the comments did not justify calls for the Chief Justice’s resignation.

The Conference maintained that there was nothing inappropriate about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions and acknowledging improvements in their operations.

“Such conclusions would go well beyond the evidence available to us, and calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offence,” the Bishops stated.

While defending the Chief Justice, the Conference acknowledged concerns raised by some sections of the public and civil society organisations regarding the possible political interpretation of his remarks.

According to them, references to the “past eight years” could reasonably be understood within Ghana’s political context as a comparison between the current administration and the previous government.

“The difficulty lies not in the visits themselves, but in the political character that some of his remarks can reasonably be understood to have acquired,” the statement noted.

The Bishops said they shared concerns that comments from high-ranking judicial officers could influence public perceptions of the Judiciary’s impartiality, even when no political intention was involved.

They also took note of concerns raised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), which warned that such remarks could create an impression of political endorsement and weaken confidence in the Judiciary.

Despite these concerns, the Conference said there was no evidence to suggest that the Chief Justice had become politically partisan or that the independence of the Judiciary had been compromised.

The Bishops further accepted the explanation provided by the Judicial Service that the comments were made in good faith and were not intended to undermine judicial neutrality.

“We receive that clarification in good faith,” the statement said.

The Conference stressed that judicial independence depends not only on actual impartiality but also on the public perception of impartiality, making it important for judges to exercise caution in public engagements.

It advised that the Chief Justice could have praised the work of SSNIT and MIIF without making comparisons that might be interpreted as political commentary.

The Catholic Bishops also called on both the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition NPP to avoid politicising the matter.

“The governing party ought not to treat criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its own record, nor should the opposition treat his remarks as proof that the courts have been captured,” the Conference stated.

They added that, while the incident offers important lessons on judicial ethics and public communication, it does not warrant the resignation of the Chief Justice and should instead prompt broader discussions on safeguarding public trust in Ghana’s democratic institutions.