John Mahama, the President of Ghana, has taken the decision to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo out of office on Monday after the recommendation of an investigating committee following the allegations of misconduct.
According to a statement from the presidency, “the five-member committee found that the grounds of stated misbehavior had been established and recommended her removal.”
As a result of the suspension of Torkornoo since April, three individuals filed petitions against her. The investigation committee went through 10,000 pages of evidence from 13 witnesses who were the representatives of petitioner Daniel Ofori.
In her testimony, Torkornoo also produced 12 witnesses and even experts to support her defense. The two other petitions remain at an incomplete stage.
In 2023, Torkornoo, the third female Chief Justice of Ghana, was formerly nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo. She rejected the allegations and described them as being politically motivated.
She thus makes history as the first chief justice to undergo an investigation and be removed from office in Ghana.
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) disagreed with her suspension in April and described it as a political witch hunt. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, former deputy attorney general, voiced his disagreement with the decision to the removal, and said that it set a dangerous precedent.
Chief Justices in Ghana are given security of tenure and can only lose their position if they are incompetent or misbehave.
