The president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference called for restraint after the nation’s chief justice made remarks interpreted as favoring the current administration, and critical of the previous administration.
Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Sunyani said that “judicial independence is not only a matter of actual impartiality; it also depends on the visible, unmistakable appearance of impartiality. A judge, and especially the head of the Judiciary, must be, and must be seen to be, above the partisan contest.”
At the same time, “calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offense,” said Bishop Gyamfi. “The same standard of restraint must be asked of every public office holder, regardless of who occupies it or which party is in government.”