Catholic Bishops Reject Calls for Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s Resignation

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected calls for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resign following controversy over comments he made during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and the Minerals Income Investment Fund.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, 2026, the Bishops described the calls for his resignation as disproportionate, saying the available evidence did not establish that the Chief Justice was politically partisan or that the independence of the Judiciary had been compromised.

The controversy arose after Justice Baffoe-Bonnie reportedly referred to developments recorded over the “past eight years” while commenting on the performance of the state institutions.

Critics, including the opposition New Patriotic Party, interpreted the remarks as a comparison between the current administration and its predecessor and argued that they undermined the political neutrality expected of the head of the Judiciary.

Although the Bishops rejected the demand for his resignation, they acknowledged that some of the remarks could reasonably create concerns about the appearance of judicial impartiality.

According to the Conference, there was nothing improper about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions, assessing their operations or commending improvements. However, it said such commendations should be made without appearing to compare the records of political administrations.

The Conference also welcomed the Judicial Service’s clarification that the comments were made in good faith and were not intended to compromise judicial independence.

It nevertheless reminded the Chief Justice that judicial independence depended not only on actual impartiality but also on maintaining a clear public appearance of impartiality.

The Bishops urged both the governing party and the opposition to exercise restraint. They advised the government not to treat criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its performance and cautioned the opposition against presenting the remarks as proof that the courts had been politically captured.

The Conference further called on all public officeholders to exercise restraint and uphold standards that strengthen public confidence in Ghana’s democratic institutions.