Paul Baffoe-Bonnie

Paul Baffoe-Bonnie is a Ghanaian jurist who serves as the fifteenth Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, having been sworn into the office in November 2025. A long-serving Supreme Court judge, he ascended to the country's highest judicial post following a turbulent period in the judiciary, bringing decades of experience on the bench to the role of head of Ghana's courts.

Baffoe-Bonnie was born on 26 December 1956 to Opanyin Baffoe-Bonnie of Sewua in the Bosomtwe District of Ashanti and Ama Kyerewaa of Breman in Kumasi. His early education took place at the Goaso Local Authority primary and middle schools, where he completed his Middle School Leaving Certificate examinations in the late 1960s, before he progressed through further study toward a career in law. His roots in the Ashanti Region and his steady educational path laid the groundwork for a lifetime of judicial service.

He was called to the Ghana Bar in 1983 and began a judicial career that carried him through every tier of the court system. He served as a Circuit Court judge in Kumasi and as a High Court judge at Duayaw Nkwanta, before his appointment to the Court of Appeal in 2006. In June 2008 he was elevated to the Supreme Court by President John Agyekum Kufuor, joining the apex court where he would serve for well over a decade and accumulate extensive experience in constitutional and appellate adjudication.

His path to the top office came amid extraordinary circumstances. In April 2025 he was appointed Acting Chief Justice following the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, and he administered the judiciary during the constitutional process that ultimately led to her removal. In September 2025 President John Dramani Mahama forwarded his name for the substantive position, and after consideration by the Council of State and approval by Parliament in November, he was sworn in as Chief Justice.

As the fifteenth Chief Justice, Baffoe-Bonnie assumes leadership of the judiciary at a delicate moment, tasked with restoring stability and public confidence in the courts after a period of intense controversy surrounding the office. Drawing on more than four decades in the legal profession and on the bench, he brings institutional knowledge and continuity to the role. He now heads the administration of justice in Ghana, responsible for guiding the judiciary through the aftermath of a historic constitutional episode.