CJ’s role includes building working relationships with state institutions — NDC’s Hamza Suhuyini
Lawyer and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communication Team member Hamza Suhuyini has defended the Chief Justice’s engagements with state institutions, arguing that fostering cooperation and building workable relationships with public bodies are inherent responsibilities of the office.
Hamza Suhuyini, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communication team member and lawyer, has defended Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie's interactions with state institutions. Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Suhuyini argued that fostering cooperation and building relationships with public bodies are inherent responsibilities of the Chief Justice's office.
He emphasized that the Chief Justice's engagements with institutions outside the judiciary should not be seen as political involvement, especially when the purpose was to understand their operations and promote collaboration.
Suhuyini pointed out that the Chief Justice's visit to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on September 2 was an example of him expressing his views on matters of national importance, without compromising his judicial neutrality. He explained that the Chief Justice was entitled to share his insights on the state of governance and institutional performance, and that his public statements should not be viewed as an exercise of political authority.
The lawyer challenged those questioning the Chief Justice's conduct to identify the specific law or ethical principle he allegedly breached. He maintained that the Chief Justice's comments at MIIF were merely an opinion on the performance of state institutions, rather than an endorsement of the current administration. Suhuyini accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of applying inconsistent standards to the Chief Justice, citing the party's previous praise for his open statements on the fight against galamsey (illegal mining).
He also defended the Chief Justice's remarks about the performance of state institutions, linking them to the country's broader economic circumstances over the past eight years. Suhuyini questioned why the economic challenges, including the loss of access to international capital markets and the impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) on pensioners, were not considered in the criticism of the Chief Justice.
He argued that the sacrifices made under the DDEP and the poor performance of state-owned enterprises like the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) provided sufficient context for the Chief Justice's observations.
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