The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected calls by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resign over comments he made during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

The NPP had demanded the Chief Justice’s resignation in a statement issued on Thursday, September 3, arguing that his remarks during the engagements raised questions about his political neutrality and the independence of the Judiciary.

But in a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, the Catholic Bishops described the demand for his resignation as excessive, saying there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the Chief Justice is politically partisan or that judicial independence has been compromised.

The Conference said there was nothing inherently improper about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions, assessing their operations and recognising improvements in their performance.

It acknowledged, however, that some of his comments could raise concerns about how the Judiciary’s impartiality is perceived by the public.

The Bishops singled out the Chief Justice’s reference to the “past eight years”, noting that the phrase could readily be understood within Ghana’s political environment as a comparison between the current government and the previous administration.

According to the Conference, that reference may have caused what was otherwise a routine assessment of SSNIT and MIIF to be interpreted as a political judgment.

The Catholic Bishops also took note of concerns expressed by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), which warned that the Chief Justice’s remarks could create the impression of political endorsement and weaken public confidence in the Judiciary’s neutrality.

However, the Conference said it had also considered the explanation provided by the Judicial Service that the Chief Justice’s remarks were made in good faith and were not intended to interfere with the independence of the Judiciary.

It noted that the Judicial Service had reaffirmed the Chief Justice’s commitment to judicial integrity, impartiality and equality before the law.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference therefore maintained that, while greater caution may be required in the Chief Justice’s public engagements, the circumstances outlined do not, in their view, justify the demand for his resignation.