POLITICAL SLANT WARNING: CDD-Ghana Cautions Chief Justice Over Controversial Remarks Comparing Administrations

By Hammond Naadei Mariam

The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has issued a stern warning to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, urging him to exercise self-restraint after making public statements that appear politically biased.During official visits to SSNIT and MIIF on Wednesday, September 2, the Chief Justice commended current management while criticizing past performance over the “past eight years” and noting that governance had once “sunk so low.”

In a statement released on Friday, CDD-Ghana cautioned that these implicit political comparisons blur the line between judicial oversight and political endorsement. The think tank stressed that such remarks risk breaching the Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates and further eroding public trust in the judiciary, which recent Afrobarometer data shows has dropped to just 35 percent.Highlighting that “justice must not only be done but be seen to be done,” CDD-Ghana recommended that the Chief Justice strictly adhere to judicial codes, limit public comments to legal matters, and ensure equal accountability across all judicial ranks to preserve constitutional democracy.