Parliament approves Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice after heated vote

Parliament has confirmed Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as Ghana’s new Chief Justice after a tense and divided debate in the House. He has been acting in the role since 22 April and will now become the country’s 28th Chief Justice — and the ninth under the Fourth Republic.

The approval followed a headcount vote in which 163 Majority MPs supported him, while 69 Minority MPs voted against. The vote came after the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, presented the committee’s report and asked MPs to approve the nominee.

Mr Ahiafor said the Minority had raised several issues before the vetting, but these were handled according to parliamentary rules. He added that the Minority walked out before the vetting started, even though “we were not voting at that time”.

Recommending the nominee, he said the committee found that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie showed “outstanding competence, deep knowledge of the law and strong understanding of judicial ethics”.

The Minority disagreed. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said they could not support the nomination because of the legal disputes surrounding the September removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo. He said the process that removed her had raised serious constitutional questions, and important documents — including the Council of State’s findings — had not been made public.

He added: “There appear to be rights violations against Justice Torkornoo, and that is a concern for us.”

Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga argued that unresolved court cases did not stop constitutional processes in the past, including during election petitions. He said Justice Baffoe-Bonnie had assured the committee that if the courts later ruled in favour of the former Chief Justice, he would “give way”.

Despite the Minority’s objections, the Speaker declared the nominee approved after the vote. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie will be sworn in by the President.