Your comments were beneath the dignity of your office – Arthur Kennedy to Chief Justice

Politician and social commentator Dr. Arthur Kennedy has criticised Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie over his recent comments about the performance of state institutions under the current administration.

The Chief Justice came under criticism after commending the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) for what he described as its impressive turnaround during a working visit to the institution on Wednesday, September 2.

He also questioned what had been done during the previous eight years, a comment some members of the public interpreted as having political undertones and potentially creating an impression of bias on the part of the head of the Judiciary.

Reacting to the development in a video seen by ModernGhana News on Friday, September 4, Dr. Kennedy said the comments were unfortunate and risked undermining the dignity and perceived neutrality of the Chief Justice's office.

“Your place as Chief Justice is not to be touring state-owned enterprises and making the remarks that you made. Indeed, you sounded like an NDC official, unfortunately, sir,” he said.

Dr. Kennedy said the Chief Justice should instead focus on challenges within the Judiciary, including delays in the appellate process, prisoners who have remained incarcerated for extended periods and concerns over judicial corruption.

He also urged the Chief Justice to pay attention to issues such as the assignment of judicial panels and other matters which, in his view, have contributed to bringing the Judiciary into disrepute.

According to him, the Chief Justice occupies a position that requires him to be an exemplar of the Judiciary and should therefore be cautious about comments or conduct that could create an impression of political alignment.

He further argued that the Chief Justice should not need specific ethical rules to determine that certain conduct was inappropriate, given the responsibilities attached to his office.

“I hope you can find it in your heart to apologize and pledge to do no more. And by the way, the Chief Justice does not need ethical laws to know that what he did was wrong,” Dr. Kennedy said.