New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy General Secretary, Haruna Mohammed, has pushed back against arguments that Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie merely stated the truth in his recent comments on the performance of state institutions.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, September 3, Mr Mohammed argued that the Chief Justice’s constitutional mandate is to administer justice and protect the independence of the Judiciary, rather than advance or safeguard the agenda of any political administration.

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His comments were in response to IMANI Africa President Franklin Cudjoe, who had argued that the Chief Justice may not have committed any wrongdoing in his comment on the performance of state institutions, dismissing suggestions that the remarks were politically motivated.

Mr Mohammed disagreed.

"Those who have said that the Chief Justice has said the truth certainly did not look at the facts very well. First, go and read Articles 12(5), 12(7)of the 1992 Constitution. The Chief Justice's role is to administer justice. It is not the role of the Chief Justice to protect anybody's agenda. That is out of it. That is not the work of the Chief Justice," he pointed out.

He said any indication that the Chief Justice is committed to ensuring that a particular government’s agenda succeeds could undermine the constitutional principle of judicial independence.

According to Mr Mohammed, the Judiciary is expected to operate independently of the Executive, making it inappropriate for the Chief Justice to position himself as a protector of a political administration’s agenda.

“If the Chief Justice says he's going to protect and make sure that somebody's agenda passes through, then definitely the Chief Justice has turned his back on the oath that he swore to protect and to administer justice for the good people of Ghana,” he said.