Chief Justice Under Fire …’Optics’ of SOE Visits Spark Judicial Independence Fears

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has chastised the recent public controversy surrounding the Chief Justice, Paul Baffour-Bonnie, following his visits to some state institutions, arguing that the “optics” surrounding the engagements do not inspire confidence in the judiciary.

According to Mr. Kpebu, irrespective of the outcome of a rigorous assessment of the Chief Justice’s actions, the public perception generated by such engagements cannot simply be ignored.

Speaking on TV3 Saturday morning political show, he said the controversy had reached a point where the appearance of the Chief Justice at certain venues is enough to warrant serious consideration.

He stated, “The optics don’t look good; certainly, it doesn’t look good for the Chief Justice’s commentary. If we are saying that from henceforth, the Chief Justice should not visit any State Institution, let’s put it to proper checks. We can stop at the optics and say that, they don’t look good. You can even base on the optics and say that, no matter what rigorous analysis will bring, as long as the optics don’t look good, let’s do something about that.

“It’s not every time that you say the truth, even when it’s so obvious, in order not to offend people sensitivity. From what is happening, I’m sure that will be his last, he won’t appear anywhere and also it means, Ghanaians are saying that, Chief Justice should not visit any State Institution. This is one of the many reasons why I have stated over the period that we don’t want the President appointing Supreme Court judges, and the Chief Justice, we don’t want it, let’s cut down the executive power, that’s why this country is not moving forward.”

Retract

On the same subject matter, Dr. Bernard Tutu-Boahene, a political analyst, has asked the Chief Justice to apologize and retract his recent remarks for state-owned firms if he acknowledges that they were incorrect. He said that doing so would increase his respect rather than lower his stature.

“If he looks at the rules governing his position and realises he has erred, nothing stops him from coming out to retract his comments and apologise. That would even earn him greater respect. What the Chief Justice said isn’t wrong because he’s a Ghanaian and is allowed to share his thoughts.

“But as the Bible says, ‘Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. The Bangalore Principles are what the Chief Justice uses to hold other judges and lawyers to account. Imagine if someone committed an offence abroad and the Chief Justice was asked to pass judgement on the situation, I don’t think he would have the moral standing to do that” he said in an interview with Adom TV.

Chief Justice Comments

The Chief Justice during his visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on Wednesday, September 2 praised the institution and other public entities for what he described as improvements in their operations, saying the developments had left him questioning Ghana’s performance over the previous eight years.

He also contrasted SSNIT’s current operations with previous attempts to dispose of some of its assets, including the Labadi Beach Hotel.

However, the Judicial Service in its defence, said the Chief Justice comments were made in good faith and were not intended to undermine the independence of the Judiciary.

“The Chief Justice has taken note of the mixed public reaction to some observations he made recently on the performance of State-owned entities during an outreach engagement.

The observations were made in good faith, and were not intended to serve a purpose inimical to judicial independence. The Chief Justice remains committed to upholding the integrity and independence of the Judiciary and the promotion of justice and equality before the law” it stated in a statement released on Friday.