Former Attorney General and Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has alleged that the appointment of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie formed part of President John Mahama’s “long game” to influence Ghana’s judiciary.
In an opinion article dated September 28, 2026, Martin Amidu claimed that Baffoe-Bonnie was appointed as a “surrogate” for President Mahama in an alleged attempt to gain greater control over the judiciary.
Martin Amidu argued that the Chief Justice’s appointment should be examined in the context of events surrounding the removal and suspension of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, raising questions about the circumstances under which Baffoe-Bonnie first became Acting Chief Justice before being appointed substantively to the position.
According to Martin Amidu, President Mahama’s judicial “reform agenda” required a Chief Justice who would help advance the government’s objectives.
He cited remarks attributed to Baffoe-Bonnie as evidence of what he described as a close relationship between the Chief Justice and the President.
“The old man’s agenda is one that will benefit Ghana. We should do everything to ensure that he succeeds,” the Chief Justice was quoted as saying.
Mr Amidu further cited the Chief Justice as saying: “If the old man has decided that you are the right person to be in this position out of the 30 million people, it means he has a lot of confidence in you; and so, we should do everything to make sure that his agenda succeeds.”
Mr Amidu argued that the remarks raise questions about the Chief Justice’s understanding of the constitutional principle of separation between the Executive and the Judiciary.
He also criticised what he described as Baffoe-Bonnie’s conduct since assuming office, alleging that his actions have demonstrated a close alignment with the government.
It will be recalled that on Wednesday, September 2, the Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, toured some state institutions where he questioned how Ghana sank so low in the past eight years under the former administration.
The Chief Justice expressed astonishment at the performance of some state institutions over the past eight years.
According to Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, comparing the current progress of some state institutions with their performance over the past eight years, he wonders what went wrong in the last eight years.
The Chief Justice lauded the performance of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and other public institutions under the current Mahama administration.
Speaking during a visit to MIIF on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, he said he was impressed by what he had seen at the institution and other state entities.
Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie stated, “I must congratulate you. I mean, you have done marvellously well. Sometimes, when we hear about the things that you have done and the things that some organisations are doing now, we wonder. Some of us keep wondering what we really have been doing in the past eight years”.
“We’ve just come back from SSNIT. We went to SSNIT this morning, and the kind of things that we heard and what we had heard even before we went there, if you compare that with the fact that, not too long ago, SSNIT was preparing to sell its prized assets like the Labadi Beach Hotel, you wonder how Ghana could have sunk so low,” he added.
The Chief Justice, following these remarks, has come under sharp criticism online, with many questioning his statements, which have since gone viral.
@ghnow_ The Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, together with his DCE, exchanging pleasantries with Nananom, parents, teachers and students of Bandaman Senior high Technical School as he and the chiefs of Banda inspected GETFund projects in the school. #GHnow #fyp ♬ Steeze – Mr Drew
@ghnow_ Eiii Asafo Maame #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
