Majority, Minority Clash Over Chief Justice’s Vetting

The Minority in Parliament yesterday rejected the nomination of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice of the Republic.

According to Caucus Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu, his side had preliminary issues well-grounded in law and could not be part of a process that would give right to one person while denying another of “her bona fide” as enshrined in the Constitution.

At the vetting of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie in Accra yesterday, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said much had not been done “to put to bed” the legal tussle mounted by the removed Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo.

He observed that during the trial of Justice Torkornoo, the process — including preliminary objections — was swift, but the same had slowed since the Article 146 Committee recommended her removal, despite multiple applications at various fora challenging her removal.

The Minority Leader was of the view that there was a deliberate decision by beneficiaries of Justice Torkornoo’s removal to frustrate the process.

He said while the acting Chief Justice had failed to empanel a court to hear his predecessor’s application, the Attorney-General had also been on a never-ending request for time to file his response to Justice Torkornoo’s applications.

“For all the reasons given, we the Minority Caucus, hereby, vote en bloc to reject the nominee. We are registering in the strongest terms that we reject the nomination and the record should reflect that,” he stated.

All this, he claimed, played to the governing NDC’s plot, whilst in opposition, to remove Justice Torkornoo if they won power.

“We hold the view that the judiciary must not be the executive’s enforcement arm, neither should it be Parliament’s ally in political projects. It is the guardian of our Constitution, the protector of our rights, the final arbiter of all our laws. Its independence is sacrosanct, integrity non-negotiable and oracle of justice emanating from the people,” he said as he led his side out of the vetting room.

The decision was reached after a legal tussle ensued between Mr. Afenyo-Markin and his opposite colleague, Mahama Ayariga.

It all began when Mr. Afenyo-Markin, in his preliminary comment to kickstart the process, described Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as a “disputed nominee” who had benefited from the “opaque” manner in which the Article 146 Committee conducted its work.

Those characterisations drew a sharp response from Mr. Ayariga, MP for Bawku Central, who invoked Standing Order 122, which bars a member from resurrecting a matter that has already been dealt with at plenary, and Order 123, which prohibits a member from raising issues about the conduct of the Speaker, the Chief Justice, or Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature in Parliament except upon a substantive motion.

The Minority on October 29, 2025, had filed a motion to stop the vetting of Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie, citing the pending challenges surrounding the removal of Justice Torkornoo at various platforms, including the ECOWAS Court of Justice — a motion that was dismissed on Thursday.

“So this issue about the propriety or otherwise surrounding the removal of the former Chief Justice has been raised on the floor, debated extensively, and a ruling given,” Mr. Ayariga stated.

“No substantive motion is before us, so the Ranking Member has no lawful authority to raise anything about what happened in court, the processes leading to the removal of Justice Torkornoo, and the nomination of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie. He should be guided.”

In his ruling, the Chairman of the Committee and First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, coming under Order 103, said the attempt by the Minority Leader to revive the already dismissed motion was inappropriate.

Mr. Ahiafor, MP for Akatsi South, subsequently directed that the characterisation of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as a “disputed nominee” and the description of the Article 146 Committee’s work as having been done in an “opaque manner” be expunged from the records of the House.