Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie
President John Dramani Mahama has nominated Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as the new Chief Justice, following the removal of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office.
A statement from the Presidency signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Spokesperson to the President, noted that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s name has been forwarded to the Council of State for consideration for the position of Chief Justice in accordance with Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
He has been acting as Chief Justice since April 22, 2025, after the President signed a warrant suspending Justice Torkornoo from office.
This followed the setting up of a committee to probe three petitions filed against her.
If confirmed by Parliament, which many consider to be extremely possible, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie would serve as substantive Chief Justice for just a little over a year as he would attain the mandatory retirement age of 70 on December 26, 2026.
The statement noted that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie has, “throughout his distinguished judicial career, served with diligence and integrity at the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and currently, the Supreme Court.”
It continued that “He has made invaluable contributions to the development of Ghanaian jurisprudence. He has earned the esteem of the Bench, the Bar, and the wider legal fraternity for his intellect, impartiality, and unwavering commitment to justice.”
The statement added that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s wealth of experience and long service on the Bench render him eminently qualified for the high office of Chief Justice.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie was born on December 26, 1956 and was called to the Bar in 1981.
He worked as a Circuit Court judge in Kumasi and served as High Court judge at Duayaw Nkwanta.
He was later appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2006 and subsequently appointed to the Supreme Court in June 2008 by former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
He was on the panel that dismissed the election petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) challenging the 2012 presidential election result.
The NPP had wanted the court to scrap over four million votes for alleged tampering.
Prior to 1992, he worked as a Principal Inspector of Taxes, and Head of Legal Eastern and Volta Regions at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Before that, he had served as Deputy Superintendent of Prisons and Head of Legal at the Prisons Service – Headquarters.
He is an alumnus of Konongo-Odumase Secondary School where he obtained is O’ and A’ level certificates. He went on to graduate from the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law.
Currently, he chairs the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC), the Election Management Committee of the Judicial Service and the Finance Committee of the Judicial Service.
He is also actively involved in national and international discourse, attending numerous conferences and contributing to judicial publications, particularly in Election Law.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak