Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has cautioned that rulings influenced by personal emotions or fears pose a ser
Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has cautioned that rulings influenced by personal emotions or fears pose a serious threat to Ghana’s justice system.
Mr. Boadu described the conduct of the newly vetted Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, as troubling, citing remarks made during his vetting that, in his view, reflected dangerous judicial instincts.
“Look at what happened with the vetting of the Chief Justice,” he said. “A CJ who can say that instead of giving a convict 30 years, he felt the person was still young and might return to harm him, so he gave 70 years instead—that is very dangerous for our body politic and our justice delivery system.”
Mr. Boadu stressed that justice must never be guided by personal feelings or fears, warning that such tendencies could undermine public confidence in the courts.
“If a Chief Justice gives rulings based on his personal emotions or benefits, how many of the cases before him will not be influenced by those same factors? This is very dangerous,” he stated.
The former NPP executive, who is seeking to become his party’s next national chairman, said he expected either the President to withdraw the nomination or Parliament to reject it, arguing that such conduct should disqualify anyone aspiring to lead the judiciary.
Commenting on the Minority’s decision to walk out during the vetting, Mr. Boadu defended their action, saying it was intended to avoid legitimizing an illegality.
“We walked out because we didn’t want to legitimize illegality,” he explained. “They shouldn’t have vetted him at all. If a nominee’s views could harm the delivery of justice, why should he be allowed to go through the process?”
He added that the Minority’s stance was justified, insisting that the vetting should have been suspended until a related legal matter was resolved.
“In our view, an acting Chief Justice should have continued until the case before the court was settled. That was our position,” he said.
Mr. Boadu further criticized the Majority’s posture in Parliament, arguing that their dominance made it impossible for the Minority to have their concerns meaningfully addressed.
“What else were they supposed to do? Even if they stayed to raise these issues, considering the attitude of the Majority, would it have changed anything?” he asked.
Turning to his party’s internal challenges, Mr. Boadu lamented the NPP’s poor showing in the 2024 parliamentary elections, saying the reduced representation has weakened the opposition’s influence in holding government accountable.
“We performed abysmally in 2024,” he admitted. “We had just under 32% of seats in Parliament. If we had full numbers, some of the policies that passed would not have gone through.”
He cited the swift approval of the petroleum levy as an example of the consequences of the NPP’s diminished strength in the House.
“They imposed a levy on petroleum products within 24 hours. There was no major critique or review because we simply didn’t have enough members to oppose it,” he said.