Catholic bishops reject calls for Baffoe-Bonnie to resign over political remarks

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected calls for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resign over remarks critics say appeared to favour the current government.

The bishops described demands for his resignation as disproportionate, but said his reference to the “past eight years” during visits to two public institutions could reasonably be interpreted as a partisan comparison between administrations.

They warned that although there was no evidence the Chief Justice was partisan, public comments that created such an impression could weaken trust in the Judiciary.

The controversy followed Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and the Minerals Income Investment Fund on September 2, 2026.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, the bishops said there was nothing improper about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions, assessing their operations or commending genuine improvements.

“The difficulty lies not in the visits themselves, but in the political character that some of his remarks, in particular his reference to the ‘past eight years’, can reasonably be understood to have acquired,” the statement said.

“In our national context, such a phrase is readily heard as a comparison between the present administration and its predecessor.”

The bishops said what may have begun as an assessment of institutional

performance had taken on, “at least in appearance, the character of a partisan judgment”.

Concerns over judicial impartiality

The conference referred to concerns raised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development that the comments could create an impression of political endorsement and damage public confidence in judicial impartiality.

It also acknowledged the Judicial Service’s explanation that the Chief Justice made the observations in good faith and had no intention of compromising judicial independence.

“We receive that clarification in good faith,” the bishops said.

They stressed, however, that the office of Chief Justice required greater restraint because the courts could be called upon to decide disputes involving the government, political parties and public institutions.

“Judicial independence is not only a matter of actual impartiality; it also depends on the visible, unmistakable appearance of impartiality,” their statement said.

“A judge, and especially the head of the Judiciary, must be, and must be seen to be, above the partisan contest.”

The bishops were careful not to accuse Justice Baffoe-Bonnie of political bias or suggest that Ghana’s Judiciary had been compromised.

They said such conclusions would go beyond the available evidence and that calls for his resignation on the basis of the remarks alone were excessive.

“The Chief Justice, like any citizen, is entitled to his own convictions,” the statement said.

“The question is not whether he may hold them, but whether his public conduct in office should ever create room for reasonable doubt about where he stands.”

Appeal for political restraint

The conference said the Chief Justice could have praised improvements at SSNIT and MIIF without comparing the records of different governments.

It argued that the same positive message could have been delivered without creating questions about his political neutrality.

The bishops also appealed to political actors not to exploit the controversy.

They said the governing party should not regard criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its record, while the opposition should not treat his remarks as proof that the courts had been politically captured.

The conference called for the same standard of restraint to be applied to every public office holder, irrespective of the political party in government.