Private legal practitioner Kwame Adofo has criticised Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie over his recent public comments praising some state institutions and President John Dramani Mahama.
The Chief Justice, during a recent visit to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), said some of the developments he had witnessed at state institutions had left him wondering what Ghana had been doing over the past eight years.
Speaking to Empire News, Lawyer Kwame Adofo said the Chief Justice’s conduct raised questions about his impartiality, arguing that his perceived involvement in political discourse was inappropriate for the holder of the country’s highest judicial office.
“The chief justice is not supposed or entitled to make political commentary. The moment a judge makes political commentary, then he puts himself in a very difficult position. The chief justice has now made a comment that has now made it hard, and therefore he cannot be seen to be to be fair. “
He added that “Because if you look at it seriously, what would the chief justice be going to visit a certain institution for? What apart from situations where it’s got to do with the court? Chief justice has no business visiting state-owned institutions or organizations, no business.”
Lawyer Adofo said the Chief Justice’s recent visit and public commentary were part of a growing trend in which he had allegedly been seen engaging publicly with members of the political class.
“To be a judge, you cannot be seen socializing with people outside your work because of the perception that it may create in the minds of the people of being biased, and this conduct and many others from the chief justice enforces the position that he has completely not understood, at least in recent times, that his position doesn’t allow him to be making comments and be mingling and socializing with people outside of his work.”
He further argued that, but for the limited time remaining in the Chief Justice’s tenure, such conduct could potentially constitute grounds for impeachment.
“Ordinarily, the answer will be yes, but he’s just got three months left. So, if if you want to initiate an impeachment procedure, it’s going to take a while longer than three months, so yes, it is ground. If you look at their own judges and magistrates code of conduct, this is a clear violation of that conduct of that code.”
Source: www.kumasimail.com
