The Office of the President has received two new petitions seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo from office, intensifying an already high-stakes judicial controversy. These latest petitions—whose authors remain unnamed—bring the total number of removal petitions against the Chief Justice to five. The first three were submitted by separate individuals on February 14 and March 17, 2025.
While the contents of all five petitions remain confidential in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, sources close to the matter say they cite allegations of misconduct and abuse of power. This escalation follows the formal suspension of the Chief Justice on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, by President John Dramani Mahama, after a prima facie case was established by a committee set up to examine the initial three petitions.
The President’s action, taken in consultation with the Council of State and in line with Article 146(6) of the Constitution, has triggered widespread national debate about judicial independence and the potential politicization of constitutional processes. As required by law, Chief Justice Torkornoo was served with the original petitions and given a 10-day window to respond. She submitted her response on April 7, after which a determination was made that the allegations warranted a full investigation.
With her suspension now in effect, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the most senior member of the Supreme Court, has been designated to act as Chief Justice in the interim, as provided under Article 144(6). Public reactions to the suspension and the growing number of petitions have been swift and polarized. Critics—including opposition lawmakers and legal experts—have accused the government of pursuing a political agenda aimed at restructuring the judiciary to serve partisan interests. Others argue that the constitutional process is being properly followed and must be allowed to run its full course.
Former NPP parliamentary candidate Akosua Manu has warned that the suspension could mark the beginning of what she called a “judicial capture,” while legal analysts like Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) have advocated for more transparency. He has called for the grounds and outcomes of such removal proceedings to be made public to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
As it stands, the Chief Justice remains suspended pending the outcome of a full inquiry by a five-member investigative committee, which is expected to be constituted to hear the matter. Ghana’s legal and political communities—and indeed, the broader public—now await the next phase of this unprecedented process that could reshape the nation’s judicial landscape.
By: Akosua Otchere
