A Ghanaian citizen, Mr. Ghande Nalin Yussif, has formally petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to initiate proceedings for the removal of Supreme Court Justice and Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, on grounds of stated misconduct, as provided under Article 146(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
In a petition dated 6th October 2025 and received by the Presidency on 7th October 2025, Mr. Yussif invoked the constitutional procedure that empowers the President to act on allegations of misconduct or incompetence against a Justice of the Superior Courts.
Citing Article 146(1), he reminded the President that, “A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on the ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind.”
According to the petition, Mr. Yussif alleges that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie engaged in conduct amounting to “stated misbehaviour,” which he argues contravenes multiple provisions of the Judicial Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates of Ghana and internationally accepted judicial ethics, notably the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.
He further claims that the Acting Chief Justice’s alleged statements to a plaintiff in a pending constitutional case were improper and inconsistent with the standards of judicial propriety, independence, and impartiality.
In his words, the Justice’s conduct “breaches multiple provisions of Ghana’s Judicial Code of Conduct, contravenes internationally recognised principles of judicial propriety, independence, impartiality, integrity, and avoidance of conflicts of interest, undermines the authority and legitimacy of the judiciary, and severely damages public confidence in the administration of justice.”
The petitioner urged President Mahama to exercise his constitutional mandate by referring the matter to the appropriate tribunal for investigation.
“I therefore respectfully petition Your Excellency to take immediate steps under Article 146 of the Constitution to ensure that this matter is investigated by the appropriate tribunal and that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie is removed from office should he be found culpable,” the letter added.
Mr. Yussif stated that he has attached supporting documents, including “copies of media publications of the meeting and a copy of the Writ issued by the plaintiffs,” to substantiate his claims.
On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was nominated by President John Dramani Mahama to the position of Chief Justice of Ghana pending the approval of the Council of State and Parliament.
His nomination followed the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo from office as Chief Justice and Head of the Judiciary, the third arm of government, on Monday, 1 September 2025.
Born on 26 December 1956, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie began his education at the Goaso Local Authority Primary and Middle Schools, completing his Middle School Leaving Certificate examinations in the late 1960s.
He attended Konongo Odumase Secondary School, where he obtained his GCE Ordinary Level and GCE Advanced Level certificates between 1969 and 1976. He proceeded to the University of Ghana and subsequently to the Ghana School of Law.
While at law school, he was roommates with the late former NPP General Secretary Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John, and close friends with former Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah. He fondly described the three of them as forming “a trio of village law students.”
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie was called to the Bar in Ghana in 1983. He began his judicial career as a Circuit Court Judge in Kumasi and later served as a High Court Judge in Duayaw Nkwanta. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2006.
In June 2008, President John Agyekum Kufuor appointed him as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
In 2013, he was part of the panel of Supreme Court Judges that adjudicated the landmark election petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which sought to annul approximately four million votes from the 2012 general elections due to alleged irregularities.
The petition was ultimately dismissed by the court. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie hails from Sewua in the Bosomtwe District through his father, Opanyin Baffoe-Bonnie, and from Breman in Kumasi through his mother, Ama Kyerewaa.
