Ghana’s Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, has been fired by the country’s President John Mahama following a recommendation by an inquiry. Torkornoo has also been removed as a judge of the Supreme Court following the committee’s findings.
The chief justice had been on suspension since April after complaints were lodged against her in petitions by three individuals. During its investigation, the committee examined 10,000 pages of evidence from 13 witnesses on behalf of petitioner Daniel Ofori.
The panel found evidence of unlawful expenditure of public funds linked to Torkornoo’s private travel. Public funds were reportedly used by the chief justice during a private trip to Tanzania in 2023.
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She is also accused of interfering in appointments by sidestepping procedures for appointing Supreme Court judges and abusing judicial powers. However, the Chief Justice’s legal representatives strongly rejected the grounds for her removal, insisting the allegations were unfounded.
Opposition Condemns Suspension as Threat to Judicial Independence
In April, Patriotic Opposition Party condemned her suspension, describing it as an attempt to undermine judicial independence. Also, she survived a removal request under Akufo-Addo, who found the petition to have “several deficiencies”.
She had also been accused of bias in some of her rulings by the current governing party, which was then in opposition. According to critics, this sets a worrying precedent and undermines the judicial independence of the country.
Former deputy attorney general, Alfred Yeboah, condemned the decision to remove Torkorno, describing it as a “dangerous precedent. According to him, the petition showed no proper grounds to warrant the chief justice’s removal.
Gertrude Torkornoo, Ghana’s third female chief justice, was nominated in 2023 by former President Nana Akufo-Addo. The preceding judge is the first sitting chief justice to be investigated and dismissed.
As it stands, Torkornoo still has the opportunity to challenge her removal in court, which may end up fruitless.
