Oppong Nkrumah questions Chief Justice’s tours of state institutions

Ofoase-Ayirebi Member of Parliament Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has expressed concern over Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s recent visits to state-owned institutions, describing the development as unusual and unprecedented in Ghana’s recent political history.

The former Information Minister said he was particularly surprised by the Chief Justice’s decision to tour institutions including the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

According to Mr Oppong Nkrumah, such visits raise questions about the extent to which the Judiciary should engage with activities and institutions traditionally associated with the Executive.

He made the comments on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen programme on Wednesday, September 2, following remarks made by the Chief Justice during his visit to MIIF.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie had praised developments at MIIF and other public institutions under the current administration. He said some of what he had seen during his visits had made him question what Ghana had been doing over the previous eight years.

The Chief Justice also referenced an earlier visit to SSNIT, saying the experience had strengthened his view that some state institutions were achieving significant improvements in their operations.

‘I haven’t heard of this before’

Reacting to the visits, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said he could not recall any comparable instance in Ghana’s recent political history in which a Chief Justice had undertaken official tours of state-owned enterprises.

“For all the years that I have followed politics and governance, I haven’t heard of such that the Chief Justice will be touring state-owned enterprises. I haven’t heard of that before,” he said.

He stressed that the Judiciary is constitutionally established as an independent arm of government and traditionally operates separately from both the Executive and Legislature.

“The Judiciary is supposed to be more or less independent. It’s an arm of government on its own; they don’t mingle with whether it’s the Legislature or the Executive,” he stated.

According to the MP, there has also been a long-standing convention within Ghana’s judicial system against judges participating in public activities that could create the impression of political involvement.

“It is a well-known, established practice that the Judiciary doesn’t mingle, so you don’t see judges going around mingling in public,” he added.

Concerns over judicial independence

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said he was therefore unclear about the circumstances that led to the Chief Justice’s visits and questioned whether such engagements were appropriate for the head of the Judiciary.

His concerns come amid previous public criticism of the Chief Justice over what some observers have described as perceived closeness to officials of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Ofoase-Ayirebi MP argued that combining such concerns with official visits to state institutions and public comments on their performance could further fuel perceptions that the Judiciary is becoming involved in areas traditionally handled by the Executive.

“So, if upon that now there are official tours that are going on, it’s bewildering, and then I find it strange to hear some of these comments being made by the Judiciary,” he said.

He maintained that preserving public confidence in the Judiciary requires the institution and its leadership to maintain a clear separation from political and administrative affairs.

“My first reaction is that this is bewildering; it’s absolutely shocking. This is unprecedented. I haven’t seen that before, that the Judiciary will get involved at this level,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah added.