The vetting of President John Dramani Mahama’s Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, sparked a dramatic political and constitutional conflict, as Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin delivered a scathing opening statement at the commencement of the vetting process.
Speaking with what he termed an “unshakeable resolve to defend our Constitution,” the Minority Leader declared the proceedings a “test of whether Ghana’s Judiciary will remain independent or fall under executive and political control.”
The Minority in Parliament registered its unequivocal objection and condemnation of the process, which Afenyo-Markin described as a “coordinated campaign to subjugate Ghana’s Judiciary to political domination.”
The core of the Minority’s concern is rooted in the controversial removal of the lawful Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, on 1 September 2025, which the Minority Leader stated occurred under “fraudulent circumstances.”
He asserted that accountability demands due process and fairness, neither of which was adhered to.
Crucially, the Minority Leader noted that seven separate proceedings across three jurisdictions—the Supreme Court, the High Court, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice—are currently challenging the constitutional validity of that removal.
He stressed that while these cases remain pending and the question of a vacancy is sub judice, the administration rushed to nominate a replacement.
Afenyo-Markin stated that clarity was not the objective, but rather the creation of a fait accompli (an irreversible fact).
He argued that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie could have continued serving in an acting capacity as Chief Justice under Article 144(6) until the courts provided clarity, as there was no institutional crisis demanding urgent action.
The most severe accusation was aimed directly at the nominee, who was declared to be in a “manifest conflict of interest.”
Afenyo-Markin pointed out that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, as the Acting Chief Justice, “wields administrative power over proceedings that, if successful, would invalidate the very removal that elevated him.”
He further criticised the nominee for taking “no visible steps to compel the Attorney-General to defend Ghana’s interests” or schedule hearings for the cases challenging his own legitimacy.
The Minority Leader also launched a strong attack on the executive’s principal legal officer, calling the conduct of the Attorney-General “scandalous” for filing no defenses in any of the seven court proceedings.
Afenyo-Markin labelled this failure a deliberate “strategy” to allow the cases to “languish undefended,” thereby creating space for the rushed confirmation to proceed, a strategy that risks “international humiliation” at the ECOWAS Court.
The Minority Leader confirmed that a motion they presented to Parliament to suspend the proceedings until the courts determined whether a vacancy actually exists was refused by the Speaker, who “chose to proceed.”
Afenyo-Markin concluded by stating that, despite his distinguished career, the nominee appears before the committee as “the direct beneficiary of the very constitutional irregularities we are duty-bound to examine.”
The Minority Leader immediately followed his explosive statement by leading his delegation in a walkout from the Appointments Committee.
The dramatic action signalled a total boycott of the vetting process, effectively withdrawing the Minority’s participation from the questioning phase and rejecting the legitimacy of the proceedings outright.
This final act of defiance underscored the Minority’s unwavering position that the vetting is “constitutionally premature” and that they would not be “silent accomplices to this subversion.”
