President John Mahama is set to nominate Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as the country’s next Chief Justice, JoyNews can exclusively confirm.

JoyNews’ Legal Affairs Correspondent, Kwaku Asante, reports that the President has written to the Council of State seeking its advice on his choice of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie to lead the judiciary.

The development follows the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office for stated misbehaviour. Her dismissal was based on the findings of a constitutional committee established under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.

• Read also: Justice Baffoe-Bonnie takes over as Ag. Chief Justice after Torkonoo’s suspension

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who has been acting in the role since April 2025 after the suspension of Justice Torkornoo, is currently the most senior judge on Ghana's Supreme Court. He was appointed to the apex court in June 2008 by then-President John Agyekum Kufuor.

Born on 26 December 1956, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie had his basic education at Goaso before continuing to Konongo Odumase Secondary School, where he obtained both his Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates.

He studied law at the University of Ghana and later at the Ghana Law School, where he was called to the Bar in 1983.

He rose through the ranks of the judiciary, serving as a Circuit Court Judge in Kumasi, a High Court Judge at Duayaw Nkwanta, and later as an Appeals Court Judge before his elevation to the Supreme Court.

If his nomination is approved, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie will officially take over as head of the Judiciary, steering the institution at a crucial time following the dramatic removal of his predecessor.

The Council of State is expected to advise the President in the coming days, after which Parliament will take up the nomination for vetting and approval.