Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and his wife, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, the D-G of Prisons
The President of the Republic and the First Lady are often regarded as the most powerful couple in the nation. But are they really?
While the President holds ultimate authority, the First Lady’s role is largely ceremonial, with no executive powers.
There have been many firsts under the government of John Dramani Mahama, but the recent suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo may have created arguably the most powerful couple in Ghana’s history.
Following the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, the most senior judge on the bench, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie assumed the role of Acting Chief Justice, making him the head of Ghana’s judiciary.
Just weeks before he assumed this role, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s wife, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, was appointed Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, placing her in charge of the administration of the nation’s prisons.
In effect, while the husband supervises the sentencing of individuals, the wife oversees their incarceration – the husband heads the courts, the wife heads the prisons.
Below are brief profiles of Ghana’s “power couple”:
Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie
Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was called to the Bar in Ghana in 1983. He began his judicial career as a Circuit Court Judge in Kumasi and later served as a High Court Judge in Duayaw Nkwanta. In 2006, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal.
In June 2008, President John Agyekum Kufuor appointed him as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
In 2013, he served on the panel of Supreme Court Judges that adjudicated the landmark election petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which sought to annul approximately four million votes from the 2012 general elections due to alleged irregularities. The petition was ultimately dismissed.
Born on December 26, 1956, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie began his education at the Goaso Local Authority Primary and Middle Schools, completing his Middle School Leaving Certificate examinations in the late 1960s.
He attended Konongo Odumase Secondary School, where he obtained his GCE Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates between 1969 and 1976. He then proceeded to the University of Ghana and subsequently the Ghana School of Law.
He is also the brother of the late Kwasi Sainti Baffoe-Bonnie, founder of Network Broadcasting Company Limited, which operates Radio Gold.
Patience Baffoe-Bonnie
Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, boasts over 36 years of experience in prison administration, having held various managerial, staff, and command positions since joining the service in 1987.
She previously served as Director of Prisons in charge of Services and Director of Technical and Services.
Her other command roles include Officer-In-Charge of James Camp Prison, Greater Accra Regional Commander, Chief Legal Officer, Greater Accra Regional Legal Officer, Welfare Officer, Course Commander, and Adjutant at the Prisons Officers’ Training School.
She has also worked at various facilities, including James Fort Female Prison, Senior Correctional Centre, Kumasi Female Prison, and Sekondi Female Prison.
In addition to her extensive experience in the Prisons Service, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie is also a qualified lawyer. She holds a Postgraduate Law Degree Certificate from the Ghana School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work and Sociology from the University of Ghana. She is an alumna of Tema Secondary School and Winneba Secondary School.
She actively participates in various organisations, including the Ghana Olympic Committee Women’s Commission, the Women and Children’s Committee of the Ghana Bar Association, and the African Union (AU)
Women Election Observer Group. She is currently the National President of the Prisons Ladies Association.
BAI/MA
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