NewzLawyer and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communication team member, Hamza Suhuyini, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of hypocrisy over its criticism of the Chief Justice’s recent comments on the performance of some State-owned entreprises. Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, September 3, 2026, Mr Suhuyini said the NPP had previously praised the Chief Justice for speaking openly against illegal mining, but was now questioning his neutrality because his latest comments appeared critical of the party’s record in government. The Chief Justice, during a visit to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on Wednesday, September 2, praised the performance of MIIF and other state institutions.
He said some of the developments he had witnessed had left him wondering what Ghana had been doing over the previous eight years. I mean, you have done marvellously well. See, because sometimes when we hear the things that you have done, the things that some organisations are doing now, we wonder; some of us keep wondering what really we have been doing in the past eight years,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said.
He made the comments after visiting the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), where he said he had also been impressed by what he was told about the institution’s performance. Comparing the situation to previous plans to dispose of some SSNIT assets, including Labadi Beach Hotel, the Chief Justice said: “If you compare that to the fact that not too long ago, SSNIT was preparing to sell its prized assets like Labadi Beach Hotel, you wonder how Ghana could have sunk so low.” Mr Suhuyini said the Chief Justice had consistently demonstrated a willingness to speak on issues of national interest and that his right to express such views should not be questioned simply because political actors disagree with him. “This is not the first time the Chief Justice is speaking.
Every Chief Justice and his style, you cannot take away that right from the Chief Justice.” He recalled the Chief Justice’s earlier interventions on illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, arguing that the NPP had at the time welcomed his comments and used them to criticise the government. “It was this same group of people, NPP, who not long ago were in town praising the Chief Justice, the same Chief Justice, on his open statements on the fight agai… The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has warned that the alleged partisan conduct of the Chief Justice risks undermining public confidence in Ghana’s Judiciary.
The party said the head of the Judiciary must be seen to be politically neutral, particularly at a time when several politically sensitive cases involving members of the opposition are before the courts. Read Also: Chief Justice praises MIIF, other SOEs, questions what Ghana was doing in past 8 years He made the comments after visiting the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), where he said he had also been impressed by what he was told about the institution’s performance. “What conclusion is an accused person standing in the dock, or indeed any citizen, to draw?” the NPP asked.
The party argued that the perception of judicial independence was just as important as the actual independence of the courts. It said a Chief Justice must not conduct himself in a manner that gives litigants or the wider public reason to believe that political considerations could influence judicial decisions. “A Judiciary that vows loyalty to a President’s agenda is no Judiciary at all; it is a third chamber of Jubilee …
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