The parliamentary vetting of Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie turned symbolic on Monday (10 November) as the Minority caucus staged a walkout, invoking Shakespeare’s Macbeth to caution against unchecked ambition within the judiciary.
During the tense session, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin drew parallels between the nominee’s acceptance of the position and Macbeth’s inner struggle before murdering King Duncan, a moment in the play capturing the clash between conscience and ambition.
He suggested that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s decision to proceed with the nomination, despite pending legal challenges over the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, mirrors Macbeth’s tragic flaw: the pursuit of power at the expense of moral restraint.
“Be it known to you, chairman, and the committee and the country that we, the Minority Caucus, hereby vote en bloc to reject the nominee. We would want to state on record that the Majority can proceed with the questions. We do not intend to proceed with any question. We are, however, registering in the strongest terms that we reject the nomination, and the records should reflect that the report of this committee be a majority report,” Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu, declared.
The Minority’s boycott cements their argument that the vetting process is “tainted from inception,” with multiple suits still before the Supreme Court, High Court, and ECOWAS Court challenging Torkornoo’s removal. Analysts said the Shakespearean allusion cast the nomination as a test of judicial integrity, suggesting that unchecked pursuit of office could overshadow principle and moral restraint.
I’m most qualified
Meanwhile, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has defended his nomination as Ghana’s Chief Justice, rejecting claims that the appointment is a political reward for supporting President John Mahama during the 2013 election petition.
Speaking during his parliamentary vetting, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said he would be “disappointed” if his only qualification for the post were his past vote for the president.
“I think I qualify for the position,” he said, citing his 17 years of service on the Supreme Court.
“To say I am the best qualified person in the Supreme Court… now I will say that. The person who I served nearest to me has been there for 10 years… the next person came there in 2005… others are from 2019 and 2020,” he told the Appointments Committee.
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