Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo is facing mounting legal and political pressure after two additional petitions seeking her removal were submitted to the Office of the President, bringing the total to five and deepening an unprecedented crisis in the country’s judiciary.
The latest petitions, filed by anonymous parties, follow three others lodged earlier this year—on February 14 and March 17—by separate individuals. While the content of the petitions remains sealed under Article 146 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, sources familiar with the matter say they center on allegations of misconduct and abuse of office.
President John Dramani Mahama formally suspended Justice Torkornoo on April 22 after a preliminary committee determined there was sufficient basis for further inquiry into the original complaints. The move, made in consultation with the Council of State and pursuant to Article 146(6) of the Constitution, has ignited fierce debate over judicial independence and the potential political stakes of the process.
Justice Torkornoo, who submitted her official response to the first set of allegations on April 7, was notified of the petitions and given the constitutionally mandated 10-day period to respond. Her suspension now clears the way for a five-member committee to conduct a full investigation into the charges.
With the Chief Justice sidelined, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the Supreme Court’s most senior member, has been tapped to serve in an acting capacity under Article 144(6).
Reaction to the unfolding saga has been swift and polarized. Opposition figures and some legal experts have accused the administration of leveraging constitutional mechanisms for political ends. Akosua Manu, a former parliamentary candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party, warned that the action signals the beginning of what she described as “judicial capture.”
Meanwhile, others argue the government is operating strictly within the boundaries of the law. Legal scholars such as Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development have called for greater transparency, urging that the grounds and eventual findings of the inquiry be made public to maintain public confidence in the judiciary.
The controversy comes at a time of growing concern over the separation of powers in Ghana’s democratic system. The outcome of the ongoing investigation could not only determine the future of Chief Justice Torkornoo but also reshape the public’s perception of judicial impartiality in the country.
A timeline for the establishment of the investigative committee has not been announced, but the stakes for Ghana’s rule of law have rarely been higher.
Source:TheDotNews