The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected calls by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resign over comments he made during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

The NPP, in a statement issued on Thursday, September 3, 2026, called for the Chief Justice’s resignation, arguing that his comments during the engagements raised concerns about his neutrality and the political independence of the Judiciary.

However, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has described the demand as disproportionate, saying the available evidence does not establish that the Chief Justice is politically partisan or that the independence of the Judiciary has been compromised.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, the Conference said the Chief Justice was entitled to visit public institutions, assess their performance and acknowledge improvements without such conduct necessarily being considered improper.

The Bishops, however, acknowledged that some of his remarks could raise concerns about the appearance of judicial impartiality.

According to the Conference, particular attention had been drawn to the Chief Justice’s reference to the “past eight years”, an expression which, given Ghana’s political context, could easily be interpreted as a comparison between the performance of the current administration and that of the previous government.

The Bishops said the comment had the effect of making what could otherwise have been a straightforward assessment of SSNIT and MIIF appear, at least in perception, to carry a partisan political judgment.

The Conference also acknowledged concerns raised by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) that the Chief Justice’s comments could create an impression of political endorsement and potentially undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the Judiciary.

However, the Bishops said they had taken note of the Judicial Service’s explanation that the Chief Justice’s comments were made in good faith and were not intended to compromise judicial independence.

The Judicial Service, they noted, had also reaffirmed the Chief Justice’s commitment to judicial integrity and equality before the law.

“We receive that clarification in good faith,” the Conference said.

Judicial Conduct

Despite rejecting the NPP’s demand for the Chief Justice’s resignation, the Bishops said the controversy should serve as an important reminder of the need for judicial ethics and caution in public conduct.

They stressed that the Chief Justice occupies a particularly sensitive position because the courts could be called upon to determine disputes involving the government, political parties and public institutions.

“Judicial independence is not only a matter of actual impartiality; it also depends on the visible, unmistakable appearance of impartiality,” the Conference said.

The Bishops nevertheless maintained that the Chief Justice’s comments, by themselves, did not provide sufficient grounds to conclude that he was politically partisan or that the Judiciary had been compromised.

“Such conclusions would go well beyond the evidence available to us, and calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offence,” they said.

The Conference said the Chief Justice, like any other citizen, was entitled to his personal convictions but must exercise greater caution in his public conduct because of the constitutional and sensitive nature of his office.

It suggested that he could have commended the progress recorded by SSNIT and MIIF without drawing comparisons between the performance of successive governments.

Call for Political Restraint

The Catholic Bishops further urged both the governing party and the opposition to exercise restraint in their response to the controversy.

They cautioned the governing party against interpreting criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its record, while also urging the opposition not to use his comments as evidence that the courts had been captured.

“The governing party ought not to treat criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its own record, nor should the opposition treat his remarks as proof that the courts have been captured,” the Conference said.

The Bishops called on political actors and public officials to uphold restraint and protect public confidence in Ghana’s democratic and judicial institutions, regardless of which political party is in power.

The Conference said maintaining confidence in the Judiciary requires not only actual independence and impartiality but also public conduct that reinforces the perception that the courts remain above partisan political interests.