Chief Justice nominee, Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie, has explained the need for judges to sometimes use their discretion in handing down sentences, despite what the constitution spells out.
According to him, although sentencing guidelines are available to provide a framework for judges in their rulings, discretion is needed to address the broader context of a case, considering the protection of vulnerable parties and public safety as a whole.
During his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament for the position of Chief Justice on Monday, November 10, 2025, he justified a 70-year jail term he handed to one notorious criminal, Ayi Ayeetey, popularly known as Ataa Ayi.
This was after the Committee had recalled that case he presided over in his “youthful days”.
“The judges and magistrates, they are trained, they have sentencing guidelines,” he said. “But sometimes they have to go beyond it. In my youthful days, I gave somebody 70 years, Ataa Ayi.”
He explained the need to provide a jail term where the convict would not return to attack the family of the judges or any other vulnerable party involved in the case.
“I gave him 70 years. And what I told myself was that if Ataa Ayi was given 30 years and he comes back, my family will be the first he will attack. So by the time he comes back after 70 years, I will be dead and gone,” he said lightheartedly to laughter in the audience.
Background
Ataa Ayi, who was described by the police as the nation’s most notorious bandit, had a high price tag placed on his head by the police. His whereabouts before he was captured prompted the largest manhunt in the nation’s crime history, with expensive billboards bearing his portrait mounted in five of the ten regions of the country. Ataa Ayi was arrested in his hideout at Teshie Tsui Bleo, a suburb of Accra.
His girlfriend, suspected to be an accomplice, was also arrested in the raid.
Before his arrest, the police had been on his heels for months. His deputy, Emmanuel Tetteh, also known as Mpata, was also arrested. It was believed that information provided by Mpata might have helped to track down the elusive Ataa Ayi.
According to police, Ataa Ayi was the brain behind most of the brutal armed robberies in Accra. He and members of his gang were alleged to have, at gunpoint, stolen money, cars, jewellery and other valuables from various people in the national capital. He was also alleged to have shot several people who resisted his attacks. He was convicted of multiple counts of armed robbery offences and jailed in 2005.
BREAKING: Court acquits and discharges Ataa Ayi’s accomplice after serving over 20yrs in jail
