The Minority in Parliament has vowed to resist the vetting of Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, scheduled for Monday, November 10.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who currently serves as Acting Chief Justice, is expected to appear before the Appointments Committee to be confirmed as the substantive head of the Judiciary.
But the Minority insists the process must be halted until all legal challenges filed by the removed Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, are resolved.
Raising the matter on the floor of Parliament, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin questioned the haste to proceed with the vetting despite pending cases at both the Supreme Court and the ECOWAS Court.
“When the ECOWAS Court has fixed November 18 for its ruling on the matter, what is this House in such a hurry to do?” he asked.
“Why are we rushing to make the outcome of the case meaningless, to deny the former Chief Justice her right to occupy her office? The Attorney General has only recently sought leave to file a defence in the case, yet Parliament wants to proceed as if nothing is before the courts.”
He further argued that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who is the Acting Chief Justice, has been empowered to empanel judges to hear the cases of the removed Chief Justice, which, he said, raises questions of fairness and due process.
“The man empowered to empanel the court is the same person who has been nominated,” he said.
“He was quick to empanel the court for the injunction application, yet none of the six cases has been heard. That vetting will not happen; it must not happen.”
Mr. Afenyo-Markin urged the Majority Leader to withdraw the portion of the Business Committee’s report that includes the vetting, warning that the Minority would not support it.
“We, the Minority, as law-abiding as we are, have filed a motion and followed due process,” he added. “Justice Araba Torkornoo is a Ghanaian who submitted herself to the law. Her rights must be respected. Due process must be followed.”
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