The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed serious reservations about the nomination of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for the position of Chief Justice, describing the move as a “grave constitutional misstep” that threatens the integrity of Ghana’s democratic institutions.
In a statement signed by Justin Kodua Frimpong, General Secretary of the Party, the NPP said its opposition to the nomination was not borne out of partisanship but from a constitutional obligation to defend the rule of law and the 1992 Constitution.
Pending legal challenges
According to the statement, the removal from office of former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo is currently being challenged in seven separate legal suits before the Supreme Court, High Court, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
The Party argued that these pending cases raise fundamental questions about due process, natural justice, and constitutional protections for judicial officeholders.
“It is a cardinal principle of constitutional governance that where the legitimacy of a foundational state action is directly challenged before a competent court, the political branches must exercise restraint until the judiciary has discharged its constitutional mandate,” the statement read.
The NPP said the decision by the Mahama administration to proceed with a new nomination while these suits remain unresolved amounts to “a pre-emptive assault on the judicial function and a dangerous departure from constitutional order.”
Conflict of interest concerns
The Party also raised questions about the propriety and impartiality of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s nomination, citing potential conflicts of interest.
It noted that the nominee had presided over interlocutory proceedings in Assafuah v. Attorney-General, a case central to determining the status of the Chief Justice’s office — the very office he is now being considered to occupy.
“He was part of the majority on the Supreme Court bench that voted to allow the fundamentally flawed removal process to continue. This situation engages the timeless principle of nemo judex in causa sua — that no person shall be a judge in their own cause,” the statement said.
The Party warned that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s acceptance of the nomination, “while the legality of the vacancy he seeks to fill is under judicial contest demonstrates a disregard for the sub judice rule.”
Calls for accountability
Addressing the nominee directly, the NPP acknowledged Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s service on the bench but criticized his decision to accept the nomination under what it described as “clouded constitutional circumstances.”
“At a moment when the judiciary’s independence demanded a posture of restraint and principle, His Lordship chose acquiescence. The historical record will be unequivocal on this matter,” the statement asserted.
To the Mahama administration, the NPP cautioned against what it called the “politicisation of constitutional offices,” reminding the government that executive power must be exercised with “constitutional fidelity, not brute political force.”
“Political majorities are transient, but constitutional principles are eternal. Those enabling the subversion of our constitutional order will, in due course, be held to account—politically, legally, and historically,” it warned.
Appeal to the public
Concluding the statement, the Party called on Ghanaians to rise in defense of the Constitution and the rule of law.
“The Constitution is the sacred covenant of the Ghanaian people, and we shall never relent in our duty to defend it. The New Patriotic Party remains the resolute guardian of Ghana’s constitutional democracy,” the statement concluded.
