ADA, Sept. 14, 2026 — The President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mrs Efua Ghartey, has criticised Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for comments he made during recent official visits to two state institutions, describing them as inappropriate for the holder of the country’s highest judicial office.
Speaking at the opening of the GBA’s 2026/27 Annual Conference in Ada on Monday, Mrs Ghartey said the Bar had noted subtle and sometimes overt signals from members of the Judiciary suggesting they were serving the interests of another arm of government, particularly the Executive, which appoints judges.
She was referring to remarks by the Chief Justice on September 2, 2026, during outreach visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF). In those remarks, he praised the institutions’ current performance and compared it with their output under the previous government, asking what had happened over the preceding eight years.
“The recent commendation of a public institution and the comparison to a past government’s output, by no mean a person than the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, left much to be desired,” Mrs Ghartey told lawyers gathered under the conference theme “150 Years of Ghana’s Legal Evolution: Transforming the Profession and Driving its Future with Industry.”
Invoking Matthew 12:34 — “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” — she said the Bar was reluctant to interpret the comments as reflecting any deeper sentiment, but the biblical reference underscored the concern.
Mrs Ghartey also rejected a subsequent explanation by the Judicial Secretary in defence of the Chief Justice, calling it inadequate and lacklustre. She said it failed to address questions about judicial impartiality raised by the episode.
While reaffirming the Bar’s constitutional duty to defend judicial independence under Article 128(4) of the 1992 Constitution, she cautioned that the protection has limits.
“The guarded must stay within their bounds as dictated by their calling in the Constitution,” she said, repeating the line for emphasis.
She urged judges to reflect carefully on their role, warning that Ghanaians had become more discerning and would not tolerate perceptions of bias on the bench.
The comments have renewed debate about the boundaries between the Judiciary and the Executive at a conference otherwise focused on marking 150 years of legal practice in Ghana.
Source: Mybluewavesonline.com|Gayheart Abraham | Bolgatanga
