Ghanaian legal scholar and law professor, Prof Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has told the Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to stay out of the partisan political arena.
Prof Kwaku Asare warned the Chief Justice against making public comments that could be perceived as partisan political statements.
He argued that although he understood the Chief Justice’s sentiment, he is worried about the phrase “the past eight years”.
Prof Kwaku Asare highlighted that the Chief Justice’s phrase “the past eight years” carries an unmistakable partisan meaning in Ghana’s political discourse that could be understood, fairly or unfairly.
In a Facebook post on September 2, 2026, labelled “The Burden of the Robe,” Prof Kwaku Asare wrote, “The Chief Justice is reported as saying:
“Sometimes when we hear how well some state organisations are doing now, we wonder what we’ve been doing for the past eight years and how Ghana could have sunk so low.”
I understand the sentiment. But I worry about the language.
“The past eight years” carries an unmistakable partisan meaning in our political discourse. Coming from the Chief Justice, it can therefore easily be understood, fairly or unfairly, as an assessment of one administration relative to another.
That is territory the head of the Judiciary should avoid.
Judges do not cease to be citizens when they assume office. But the robe necessarily constrains their public speech. This is especially so for the Chief Justice, whose words inevitably carry the institutional weight of the Judiciary.
We rightly insist that politicians respect judicial independence and stay out of the judicial arena.
The obligation is reciprocal.
Judges, particularly the Chief Justice, must also exercise the restraint necessary to stay out of the partisan political arena.
The point is not whether the observation is right or wrong. Nor is it about the motives of the speaker.
It is about protecting an institution.
There will be cases before our courts involving the acts and omissions of the previous government. There will be cases involving this government. No litigant should have reason to wonder whether the head of the Judiciary has formed a favourable or unfavourable view of any administration.
Judicial independence requires political restraint, from politicians toward judges, and from judges toward partisan politics.
The higher the judicial office, the heavier the burden of restraint.
PS: Yɛde post no bɛto hɔ. Yɛnyɛ comprehension consultants.
Da Yie!”
Prof Kwaku Asare’s comments come on the back of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who 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.
See the post below:
@ghnow_ Students of Mount Sinai SHS and Okuapeman School have clashed violently, with fires reportedly destroying facilities at both schools. Six Okuapeman students were injured, while several classrooms and other facilities were damaged. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – jack
@ghnow_ Adu Boahene spotted at the Accra High Court earlier today #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
