Stop touring SOEs and fix issues in the judiciary – Dr. Arthur Kennedy tells Chief Justice

Politician and social commentator Dr. Arthur Kennedy has urged Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to focus on addressing challenges within the Judiciary rather than involving himself in matters concerning the Executive.

Dr. Kennedy’s comments follow criticism of the Chief Justice over remarks he made during a working visit to the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on Wednesday, September 2.

During the visit, the Chief Justice commended MIIF for what he described as an impressive turnaround compared to the previous administration and said the performance of some state institutions under the current government had made him question what had been done over the previous eight years.

The remarks have attracted criticism from sections of the public, with concerns that the reference to the previous eight years carried political undertones and could create an impression of bias on the part of the head of the Judiciary.

Reacting to the controversy in a video seen by ModernGhana News on Friday, September 4, Dr. Kennedy said the Judiciary has several pressing challenges that require the Chief Justice’s attention.

Dr. Kennedy identified delays in the appellate process, prisoners who have remained incarcerated for prolonged periods, missing dockets, judicial corruption and the assignment of judicial panels among issues that he believes require urgent attention.

He argued that addressing such challenges would contribute to improving public confidence in the Judiciary and help the Chief Justice build a positive legacy.

"If you are looking for things to do, there are a lot of things you can improve in our judiciary; our sentence and appellate process, prisoners who have sat in prison forever and whose dockets have been lost, judicial corruption, as has been witnessed by Afrobarometer reports, assignment of panels, and other significant things that brings our judiciary into disrepute. I suggest that you focus on these things so that your legacy will be positive," he said.

According to him, the Chief Justice, as the head of the Judiciary, must be conscious of the dignity and neutrality expected of his office and avoid conduct that could give the impression of political alignment.

He further said the Chief Justice should not need specific ethical rules to recognise that certain conduct is inappropriate for the holder of his office.

“I hope you can find it in your heart to apologise 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.