The removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has sparked widespread outrage, with opposition parties, civil society, religious leaders, and international bodies warning that the decision undermines judicial independence and sets a dangerous precedent for Ghana’s democracy.
At a joint press conference in Accra, Hon. Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, described the development as a constitutional travesty.
“This represents not merely an attack on an individual, but a direct assault on the very foundation of judicial independence in our country,” Assafuah said.
He argued that the process violated Article 146 of the Constitution, stressing that the Chief Justice was denied the right to see and respond to the petitions that triggered her removal.
“Neither the Chief Justice nor her counsel has ever been shown the supposed prima facie determination. Clearly, it does not exist,” he noted.
Assafuah further claimed that hearings were conducted in secrecy, petitioners were excused from testifying, and procedures under C.I. 65 were set aside in favour of High Court Civil Procedure Rules.
“The hearings were shrouded in secrecy … transforming what should have been an inquisitorial process into adversarial litigation tilted entirely against the Chief Justice,” he added.
On the grounds cited for her removal, the MP dismissed them as unconstitutional and baseless. He explained that allegations of financial mismanagement could only be confirmed by the Auditor-General under Article 187(7), and no such findings were made in the 2023 Judicial Service accounts. Similarly, the Chief Justice’s transfer of a Deputy Director and recommendations for promotions were within her constitutional powers under Article 125(4).
“To frame such recommendations as impeachable offences is to punish the Chief Justice for carrying out her constitutional role,” he argued.
He also criticized the President’s role, saying he failed to defend the Constitution.
“A conveyor belt does not think. A conveyor belt does not decide. But the President … did think, did decide, and did act. In acting, he chose to weaponize the Constitution,” Assafuah said.
The coalition also cited concerns raised by Justice Torkornoo herself, who revealed that she was denied access to the prima facie determination, forced to operate “in the dark,” and denied her request for an open hearing.
Public alarm has continued to mount. Veteran journalist Elizabeth Ohene likened the removal to the 1982 abduction and murder of High Court judges, warning that the judiciary was again under siege. Justice Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu of the Supreme Court, in a dissenting opinion, described the process as “no more difficult than removing a class prefect in a school.”
The Ghana Bar Association, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, and respected figures, including the National Chief Imam, have all condemned the decision.
Concluding the press conference, Assafuah urged Justice Torkornoo to seek judicial review.
“A committee’s recommendation cannot, by itself, extinguish a constitutional office. Ghanaians are firmly behind her. We will not allow the judiciary, the last bastion of our democracy, to be reduced to a political pawn.”
By: Bawa Musah
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