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Former UN Senior Governance Adviser, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, isn’t surprised by President John Mahama’s removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office, citing the NDC’s pre-election signals to take such action. “Certainly for me, I wasn’t surprised because they stated it clearly before the election that they will do that and they have done it,” he said.
On Monday, September 1, President Mahama removed Chief Justice Torkornoo with immediate effect, citing stated misbehavior. This decision follows recommendations from a constitutional committee established under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution. The committee’s investigation found grounds for removal, including unlawful expenditure of public funds, abuse of discretionary power, and interference in judicial appointments.
Professor Agyeman-Duah expressed concerns about the impact on Ghana’s governance architecture, particularly the balance of power among the three branches of government. “But I am looking at the replications, how this really affects the balance of power amongst the three key institutions of governance and the independence that they are supposed to have to ensure effective checks and balances,” he noted. He warned that if the executive branch can remove a chief justice without robust checks, it poses a danger to the system.
The removal of Chief Justice Torkornoo marks the first time in Ghana’s Fourth Republic that a sitting chief justice has been removed through constitutional processes. Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has been appointed as Acting Chief Justice pending further developments.
