A high-stakes legal dispute has been heightened by the Office of the President receiving two additional petitions calling for Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo to be removed from office.
The Chief Justice is now the target of five removal petitions in all, including these most recent ones, the authors of which have not been identified. The first three were sent in between February 14 and March 17, 2025, by different people.
According to people familiar with the case, the five petitions contain accusations of wrongdoing and abuse of authority, but their contents are still classified under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
This escalation comes after President John Dramani Mahama formally suspended the Chief Justice on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, following the establishment of a prima facie case by a committee that was formed to review the first three petitions.
In accordance with Article 146(6) of the Constitution and after consulting the Council of State, the President’s decision has sparked a nationwide discussion concerning judicial independence and the possible politicization of constitutional procedures.
The original petitions were served to Chief Justice Torkornoo, who was allowed ten days to reply as required by law.
Following her April 7 submission of her response, it was decided that the accusations merited a thorough inquiry.
Since her suspension is already in place, the most senior Supreme Court member, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has been appointed to serve as Chief Justice in the interim in accordance with Article 144(6).
There have been quick and divisive public responses to the suspension and the increasing volume of petitions. Opposition politicians and legal experts have been among the critics who have charged that the government is pursuing a political agenda that aims to restructure the judiciary to suit partisan interests.
Some contend that the constitutional process is being appropriately followed and ought to be permitted to complete its course.
While legal experts like Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) have pushed for greater transparency, former NPP parliamentary candidate Akosua Manu has cautioned that the suspension may signal the start of what she has dubbed a “judicial capture.”
In order to maintain public trust in the judiciary, he has advocated for the public disclosure of the reasons for and results of such removal processes.
As of right now, the Chief Justice is still suspended while a five-member investigative team, which is anticipated to be formed to hear the case, completes its investigation.
The next stage of this historic process, which has the potential to completely alter Ghana’s judicial system, is now anticipated by the country’s legal and political communities as well as the general public.
Source: newsthemegh.com