No boycott: Afenyo-Markin assures NPP MPs will vet Mahama’s CJ nominee, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie

The highly anticipated parliamentary vetting of President John Dramani Mahama’s Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, will proceed with the participation of NPP MPs, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has assured.

In a remark aimed at dispelling speculations of a potential opposition boycott during an interview on JoyNews with Evans Mensah, Mr Afenyo-Markin declared that the minority caucus will be present for the vetting process, but only after addressing deep constitutional concerns surrounding the nominee’s elevation.

Boycott is “Out”: A Commitment to Constitutional Duty

The Effutu Member of Parliament dismissed suggestions that the opposition would employ political manoeuvres to stall the process, despite their strong disagreement with the process that led to the departure of the immediate past Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo.

“Boycotting is out. Anybody who is expecting us to boycott, I say here and now, we will never boycott it. We will do what is right. All our cards are on the table. We’ll get there,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin stated, confirming the minority’s commitment to their legislative duties under Article 144(1) of the Constitution, which requires parliamentary approval for a Chief Justice nomination.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, a seasoned Supreme Court judge who has served on the bench since 2008, was nominated by President Mahama on September 23, 2025, following the removal of his predecessor, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, in early September 2025. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie has since been serving as the acting Chief Justice.

The Critical Legal Roadblock: Former CJ’s Pending Case

Mr Afenyo-Markin, however, made it clear that the minority’s participation in the vetting does not signal approval of the circumstances surrounding the nomination.

He highlighted a critical, unresolved legal issue concerning the pending court case filed by the former Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, which challenges the legality of the process that led to her dismissal.

The Minority Leader raised sharp questions about the ethical implications of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie continuing to act in the role while the matter remains before the Supreme Court, of which he is the most senior member.

“He [Baffoe-Bonnie] himself must know that there is a Chief Justice. He himself must know. Yes, he knows he’s acting, and he knows that there’s a substantive Chief Justice,” Mr Afenyo-Markin insisted.

He pointed to the extraordinary circumstances where a litigant—the former Chief Justice—is challenging her removal processes on grounds of being “irrational, absurd, and perverse” yet the court, under the Acting Chief Justice, has not empanelled a court to hear the case.

“The woman has a case before you challenging the processes. You’ve refused to empanel the court. You know that you are to empanel. If you want to rule, empanel the court, determine the matter and then bring a finality then we can talk,” he challenged.

This unresolved legal challenge places a significant cloud over the legitimacy of the process and will undoubtedly form the central line of questioning when Justice Baffoe-Bonnie appears before Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

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