‘I left the Prison Service so my wife could stay’ – CJ nominee Baffoe-Bonnie tells parliament

Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has shared a personal story about how he met his wife, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, who now serves as the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service.

Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, November 10, he reflected on his early professional journey.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie traced his career from the courtroom to the correctional service, a path that not only shaped his public life but also led him to the woman who would later become both his life partner and one of Ghana’s foremost law enforcement leaders.

“When I was called to the Bar, I practised law for about five years in the chambers of Tackie Otoo in Sekondi, and later for four years at Kejetia in Kumasi, where I worked with my friend, the late Sir John,” he told the Committee.

“In 1988, I joined the Ghana Prison Service. After six months of military training, I was posted to Sekondi, that’s where I met my wife.”

He recalled that his wife, then a young recruit with no rank, was just beginning her career when they first met.

“At the time, she was only starting out; she didn’t have any rank, actually,” he said.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie explained that he served as a Deputy Superintendent of Prisons until 1990, when the institution’s regulations forced him to make a difficult choice.

“We were told that I, as a senior officer, could not marry a junior officer because we couldn’t go to the mess together,” he recounted. “So I opted out of the Prison Service so that she could stay.”

His decision, made several years ago, allowed Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie to continue her career, one that has now culminated in her appointment as Director-General of the Ghana Prison Service, the highest position in the institution.

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