President John Dramani Mahama, has received three petitions calling for the removal of the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo, and has referred them to the Council of State for consultation, in line with constitutional requirements.
The petitioners’ names and their petitions’ contents are unknown. However, this marks a departure from the Akufo-Addo approach of dismissing similar petitions, as occurred in January this year, when the presidency rejected a petition filed by constitutional lawyer and accounting Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, commonly known as Kweku Azar, requesting the Chief Justice’s removal on the grounds of incompetence.
A statement from the Presidency, issued yesterday, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, confirmed that the petitions, had been submitted by various individuals.
The President has subsequently initiated the process outlined in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which governs the procedure for removing a Chief Justice from office.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, confirmed the development in the statement. However, details regarding the content of the petitions and the specific allegations against the Chief Justice were not disclosed.
As prescribed by the Constitution, the Council of State is expected to advise the President on the next steps.
In the January case, the outgoing President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, through his Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, announced on Monday night [Jan 6, 2025] that the petition lacks merit.
In the 19-page petition submitted to the Office of the President, the petitioner had alleged that the Chief Justice, Justice Torkonoo, had committed some unpardonable offences which should not go unpunished.
Prof. Asare, currently domiciled in the United States of America, cited misconduct on the part of the CJ as one of the bases for his request to remove the CJ from office.
The private legal practitioner, who is a reformist, enumerated a number of cases of incompetence against the CJ, including the transfer of judges sitting on what he said were high-profile cases and the allegation of reconstitution of Supreme Court panels to sub-substantiate his case.
Prof. Asare, said his petition was grounded in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides the basis for the removal of the CJ.
His petition ultimately made its way into the media and was published by several news outlets. Per the 1992 Constitution, the first step in removing a Chief Justice from office is to petition a sitting President.
One of the reasons President Akufo-Addo cited for dismissing the petition was that “the President feels constrained to observe that, contrary to constitutional provisions, the petition was prematurely circulated in the public domain, in breach of Article 146(8) of the Constitution, which mandates that proceedings of this nature be held in camera to protect the integrity of the Judiciary. Such a violation undermines the solemnity of the process and the principles enshrined in the Constitution to safeguard judicial independence.”
Again, the presidency indicated that the petition was submitted without supporting evidence or documentation to substantiate its claims.
It said, “The allegations, including claims of panel reconstitution, issuance of practice directions, and purported constitutional breaches by the Chief Justice, were found to be unsupported by evidence. The petitioner failed to demonstrate any factual basis or provide credible documentation to substantiate these claims.”
“Second, the processes and practices cited by the petitioner, such as the Chief Justice’s administrative responsibilities under the Courts Act, were found to be consistent with the law and established practices,” it added.