When sworn in by the President, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie will become the country’s 28th Chief Justice, and the ninth since the start of the Fourth Republic in January 1993.

Mr Ahiafor, laying the report of the Appointments Committee in Parliament yesterday, told the House that ahead of the nominee’s vetting last Monday, the Minority Leader raised some preliminary issues which were all dealt with by the committee in accordance with the law.

At the conclusion of the preliminary issues raised by the Minority Leader, he said the Minority members staged a walkout and indicated that they had rejected the nominee en bloc “though at that material moment, the actual vetting had not commenced and we were not voting”.

Outstanding competence

The Chairman of the committee recommended to the House the approval of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie for appointment as Chief Justice.

He said the committee members duly examined the nominee and, on careful deliberations, the committee “knows that the nominee demonstrated outstanding competence, a very deep knowledge of the law and a firm grasp of the Judicial ethics”.

“He addressed questions posed by the committee with professionalism, clarity and intellectual rigour, reflecting his capacity to uphold the independence, integrity and dignity of the highest court of the land,” he said.

Mr Ahiafor said the committee was satisfied that the nominee possessed the requisite qualifications, judicial temperament and commitment to constitutional values expected of the Chief Justice of the Republic.

Soon after the committee’s report had been presented, the Majority  MPs argued in favour of the motion, while the Minority argued against it.

After the debate, the Speaker put the motion to a voice vote twice, in which he declared, “The Ayes have it”.

Unhappy with the Speaker’s declaration, the Minority invoked a secret ballot process to register their rejection of the Chief Justice nominee.

They made several attempts to put hurdles in the approval of the CJ nominee, but the Speaker overruled the requests for a vote by division and declared the approval of the nominee. 

No prima facie  

Arguing against the motion earlier, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said for the first under the 1992 Constitution, a sitting Chief Justice had been removed pursuant to Article 146 of the Constitution.

He said that removal, effected on September 1, 2025, following a recommendation by a committee chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, had generated unprecedented litigation, challenging its constitutional validity, procedural regularity and legal effectiveness.

He said several proceedings were filed before Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkonoo’s removal as Chief Justice was finalised. 

“These are contemporary constitutional challenges, asserting fundamental and irredeemable flaws in the Article 146 process.

“The removal proceeded despite these pending objections, which now remain unresolved before multiple courts of competent jurisdictions,” he said.

The MP for Effutu argued that the Minority held the view that there had been inconsistency in the approach in the matter, and that if care was not taken, “this country that we all seek investment for may not attract the needed investment”. 

“Mr Speaker, as we speak, the prima facie findings of the Council of State remain unpublished.

“The fact that prima facie determination is not in the public space is of concern to us, and that the report that gave rise to the final decision of the President is also not in the public domain is of concern to us,” he said. 

Violation of rights

Mr Afenyo-Markin contended that for the purposes of transparent democracy, the era where the citizens required information should have been “an instinctive and inherent decision” to push for the release of the report of the Council of State.

He said the fact that there appeared to be some rights violations against Justice Torkornoo, the Minority could not support Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s nomination.

He cited how the Attorney-General (A-G) had persistently failed to file for defence in cases involving Justice Torkornoo at the Supreme Court, saying that the A-G had rather filed for an extension of time.

Peaceful co-existence

Arguing in favour of the motion, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, said that in 2013 and 2021, when opposition parties disputed the results of general elections, there were no vacuums at the presidency while the disputed cases remained in court.

“So, Mr Speaker, it was clear to every Ghanaian that in spite of the cases pending in the Supreme Court, we went ahead and swore in those declared by the Electoral Commission as having been validly elected.

“But the case went on, and in the case of the petition against John Mahama, it was in August 2013 that the Supreme Court handed a ruling,” he said.

Based on those developments, he said, when Appointments Committee members put a question to Justice Baffoe-Bonnie during his vetting as to what he thought would happen if the previous Chief Justice's case turned out in her favour, he said the nominee responded thus: “If in a presidential petition we are convinced that if the ruling goes against a sitting

President, that person will vacate the seat so that the winner will take over, why would we entertain doubts if a Chief Justice who has left office gets a ruling in her favour that the sitting Chief Justice will not give way so that the decision of the Supreme Court will be enforced”.

Mr Ayariga urged the House to proceed to approve the nominee, and that when the decisions of the SC came and the implications were that what had happened should be reversed, “the Chief Justice nominee said he is ready to give way and whoever the courts declare in favour of will come and occupy the post of Chief Justice”.

On the listing of cases, the Majority Leader said the nominee explained that he, as acting Chief Justice, was not responsible for listing cases.

“So, if the Minority's position was that some cases had not been listed, then that is a matter for the Registry because, as an acting Chief Justice, he normally empanels the court when the Registrar indicates that all the processes had been concluded and then we had reached a stage where we would need to empanel a court”.

Arguing further, Mr Ayariga said in January 2009, when President John Evans Atta Mills assumed power, he co-existed amicably with Justice Theodora Wood, who was appointed by President Kufuor under the New Patriotic Party.

He said on July 24, 2012, when John Mahama took over as President on the demise of President Mills, President Mahama co-existed with Justice Wood.

Mr Ayariga said the removal of Justice Torkornoo, therefore, had nothing to do with the authority that appointed her.