Giving the very unfortunate subversion of the 1992 Constitution by the Executive, with judicial endorsement by an interested-party bench in about five challenges mounted at the Supreme Court, one would have expected that His Lordship Baffoe-Bonnie, CJ – sole beneficiary of that unprecedented constitutional coup d’état – would heed the wise words of Kabachewura J. A. Braimah [later Yagbonwura Timu] and exercise utmost RESTRAINT in his reign, short as it may seem.
However, it appears the god of the injured and offended CJ is up in arms, exacting vengeance on her behalf.
In violent violation of Articles 125 (1), (2), (3) & (4), and 127 (1) & (2) of the Constitution, 1992, as well as the Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates, the hands of B.B., CJ are spreading ALL over the place with no shame, no honour, and no sensitivity. He wants to be more actively partisan than the avowed party-politicians themselves.
Even among thieves, there is honour.
As Lord Denning, the great Master of the Rolls, warned us: “The best judge is one who is less known and seen in the media.” A judge who seeks the spotlight has already lost the plot. The courtroom is his stage, not the boardroom of SOEs.
And Denning again, on criticism and dignity: “We will never use this jurisdiction as a means to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it.”
We ask, and Ghanaians must ask:
- Has the CJ bothered to visit the courts to see how they are functioning? When was the last time His Lordship went on circuit to see the broken chairs, the leaking roofs, the files piled on floors, the recorders without recorders?
- What has the CJ done about the problems with the judiciary that have occasioned calls for the resurrection of the long-buried tribunal system? Justice delayed, justice commercialized, justice remote.
- Is the CJ mindful of the state of our courts and the conditions within which judges and magistrates are operating? From Supreme Court to District Court, the rot stinks.
- What will be your legacy when you end your term as CJ? How will you be remembered – as a visitor to SOEs or as head of courts under your jurisdiction?
- Should someone visit your courts today, what will be said about your reign as CJ?
- If the Executive and Legislature are to refrain from intruding into the judicial functions of the Judiciary, what business has the Judiciary to be officious in Executive functions? Has the CJ crossed an impermissible red line?
The Constitution is clear. Article 125 says justice emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary which shall be independent and subject only to the Constitution. Article 127 says in the exercise of judicial power, the Judiciary shall not be subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.
Where in that mandate does it license a Chief Justice to become an itinerant inspector of State-Owned Enterprises? Since when did the Chief Justice become a member of the Executive’s PR team?
His Lordship is acting unlordly. Unlord-like. And history is watching.
When a Chief Justice forgets the gavel and chases the microphone at the Jubilee House and SOE boardrooms, he diminishes not just himself, but the entire Third Arm.
Mr. Chief Justice, go back to your courts.
That is where your lordship is needed.
James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr., Ph.D. (Development Studies, UCC)
