The Appointments Committee of Parliament is set to vet Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the nominee for Chief Justice, later this morning, Monday, 10 November 2025, at Parliament House in Accra.
The vetting session, which is strictly by invitation, is scheduled to commence at 11:00 a.m..
This development follows strong opposition from the Minority Caucus, which had earlier petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to suspend the vetting until all court cases filed by former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo are resolved.
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However, addressing Parliament on Friday, 7 November, Speaker Bagbin dismissed the petition, ruling that there was no constitutional or procedural basis to suspend the vetting process due to pending court matters.
He further explained that accepting such an argument would set a dangerous precedent:
Should I accept that argument, it would mean that any litigant could hold Parliament hostage by filing a case and freezing the work of Parliament and its committees. The motion is inadmissible and has been returned to the sponsor, the Minority Leader, Honourable Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
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Despite the ruling, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin insisted that his side would not support any move to vet the nominee while court proceedings remain unresolved.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who currently serves as Acting Chief Justice, was nominated by President John Dramani Mahama on 23 September 2025 in accordance with Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution, following consultations with the Council of State.
Meanwhile, former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkonoo is seeking to halt the consideration and appointment of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Ghana’s next Chief Justice.
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Her legal team, led by lawyer Kwabena Adu-Kusi, filed an application on Thursday, 16 October 2025, challenging the legality of her removal from office. Justice Torkonoo contends that her dismissal, based on the findings and recommendations of a committee established by the President under Article 146(6) and (7) of the Constitution, was unconstitutional.
She further argues that the five-member committee, chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, relied on false and misleading findings. In excerpts from the 278-page application, she describes the committee’s conclusions as “irrational, absurd, and perverse in the Wednesbury sense.”
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Justice Torkonoo also maintains that the committee’s proceedings breached several constitutional provisions, including Articles 23, 296, 146(3), 146(7), 280(1), and 295, rendering the entire process illegal, void, and of no effect.
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