A CHIEF JUSTICE GUIDED BY FEELINGS IS DANGEROUS FOR OUR JUSTICE DELIVERY – John Boadu Warns After Baffoe Bonnie’s Atta Ayi Comment
The freshly vetted Chief Justice’s actions have been deemed risky by the former NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, who has warned that decisions based on personal sentiments could jeopardise the justice system.
He claimed that the example given during Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s screening procedure exposed unsettling judicial inclinations in an interview with JoyNews’ PM Express on November 11.
He maintained that feelings or individual anxieties cannot serve as a guide for justice.
Mr. Boadu supported the Minority’s decision to walk out during the vetting, stating that it was done to prevent an illegality from being justified.
According to Mr Boadu, the Minority’s move was warranted.
“Look at what happened with the vetting of the Chief Justice,” he said.
“A CJ who can say that the convicted, and instead of giving him 30 years, he felt that he was still young, and if you give him 30 years, he may come back to see him alive and may harm him.
“Because of that, he gave him 70 years. That is very dangerous for our body politic. It is very dangerous for our justice delivery in this country.”
“If a Chief Justice gives a ruling based on his personal feelings and benefits, how many of the cases that go to him will not be determined based on his personal benefits? This is very dangerous,” he said.
Mr Boadu, who is aspiring to be the opposition party’s chairman, added that “this is something that I would have expected the President to have withdrawn him, or Parliament to have rejected him.”
“We walk out because we didn’t want to legitimise illegality,” he said.
“They shouldn’t have vetted him. They should have just let him go. If it turns out that the views of a nominee are injurious to the delivery of justice, must he go through?”
“The opposition made their point. The opposition felt that even the vetting wasn’t necessary because there is a case that can have an effect on what they are vetting the person for.
“So in our thinking, this should have allowed an acting CJ to continue till that matter before the court is cleared. That’s our position.”
He insisted that any attempt to voice concerns was pointless due to the Majority’s actions in Parliament.
“What else were they to do? If we were even sitting there and raising these issues, considering the attitude of the Majority, what would they do?” he asked.
Mr Boadu also considered the NPP’s dismal 2024 legislative performance, attributing it to the party’s diminished oversight power.
“We had an abysmal performance in 2024,” he said.
“We had just less than 32% of parliamentary representation. If we had full numbers in Parliament, certain things would go through that would not go through.”
He cited the petroleum levy’s quick passage as an illustration.
“They imposed a levy on petroleum products. They did it within 24 hours. There wasn’t a major critique or review because we were not enough to kick against it,” he said.
NKONKONSA.com
