Catholic Bishops reject calls for Chief Justice to resign

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has cautioned against turning Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s recent remarks into a basis for demanding his resignation.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, 2026, the Bishops said the controversy should instead be treated as a reminder of the care required of persons who occupy sensitive public offices.

The statement followed criticism of comments made by the Chief Justice during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and the Minerals Income Investment Fund.

The Conference said there was nothing wrong with the Chief Justice visiting public institutions, reviewing their operations or commending progress where he found it.

Its concern, however, was with the way some of his comments could be understood politically.

The Bishops singled out his reference to the “past eight years,” saying that in Ghana’s political environment, the phrase could easily be interpreted as comparing the current government with its predecessor.

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

It said remarks that may have been intended as an assessment of institutional performance could therefore appear, at least on the surface, to take on a partisan character.

The Bishops noted that the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development had expressed similar concerns, warning that the comments could create an impression of political endorsement and affect public confidence in the Judiciary.

The Conference said it had also considered the Judicial Service’s explanation that the Chief Justice spoke in good faith and did not intend to undermine judicial independence.

The Judicial Service had further reaffirmed his commitment to the integrity of the Judiciary and equality before the law.

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

Even so, the Conference said the matter could not be ignored because the office of Chief Justice is different from that of an ordinary public commentator.

It said the courts may be called upon at any time to determine disputes involving the government, public institutions, political actors and citizens.

For that reason, the Bishops said judicial independence must be protected not only in reality but also in public perception.

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

The Bishops said the available facts did not justify claims that the Chief Justice was partisan or that the courts had been captured.

They described such conclusions as unsupported by the evidence.

“Such conclusions would go well beyond the evidence available to us, and calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offence,” the Conference said.

The Bishops said Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, like every citizen, is entitled to personal views and convictions.

They added, however, that the public conduct of a Chief Justice must avoid creating reasonable doubts about impartiality.

The Conference said the Chief Justice could have praised SSNIT and MIIF on their own institutional merits without appearing to compare one political administration with another.

It also urged the governing party and the opposition to show restraint in how they respond to the controversy.

“The governing party ought not to treat criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its own record, nor should the opposition treat his remarks as proof that the courts have been captured,” the statement said.

The Bishops further called on all public office holders to apply the same standard of restraint regardless of which political party is in power.