'We do not have an independent Judiciary under Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie' – NPP's Ama Daaku
A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Communications Team, Ellen Ama Daaku, has questioned the independence of the Judiciary under Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
The comments follow criticism of the Chief Justice over remarks he made during a working visit to 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 questioned what had been done over the previous eight years.
His remarks have since sparked public debate over whether such comments were appropriate for the head of the Judiciary, with critics arguing that they could create an impression of political bias.
Reacting to this, Ama Daaku said the Chief Justice’s remarks were particularly troubling because they appeared to endorse the performance of the current administration over its predecessor.
Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on Friday, September 4, Ms Daaku said, “As we sit here in Ghana, we do not have an independent judiciary."
She added, "This government came into power on the promise of hounding out the former Chief Justice. This is a campaign promise. They were on her case, all the attacks on her. They come into office, and in six months, they find a flimsy excuse, and they threw her out.”
She further alleged that the appointment of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice had deepened concerns about the Judiciary’s neutrality.
Ms Daaku also referenced the Chief Justice’s reported attendance at social events involving persons she described as politically exposed, as well as his presence alongside the Vice President during Ghana’s football activities in Canada.
She argued that such engagements must be assessed against the Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates, particularly provisions concerning participation in political activities and gatherings with political undertones.
She questioned why the Chief Justice had devoted time to visiting state institutions such as MIIF and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), while, in her view, there were questions about the extent of his visits to courts and judicial facilities across the country.
“How many court buildings, how many courts has he visited since he took over as Chief Justice? How many regions has he visited as Chief Justice to go and see what is happening with those courts there? But he has time, he has energy to visit state agencies that are not under his office," she stated.