The Minority in Parliament has described President John Mahama’s suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as a “judicial coup.”
In a statement issued in Accra on April 22, the group further asserted that the removal constitutes a “reckless abuse of executive power and a direct assault on the independence of Ghana’s judiciary.”
Suspension announcement
A statement from the Presidency on April 22 confirmed that Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo after a prima facie case was established in response to three separate petitions seeking her removal from office.
Consequently, the President appointed a five-member committee to conduct a full inquiry into allegations of misconduct, abuse of office, and constitutional breaches leveled against the Chief Justice.
Minority’s opposition
However, the Minority has strongly opposed the President’s decision, calling it “Ghana’s day of shame.”
“This move, taken while legitimate legal challenges are pending before the Supreme Court, reeks of intolerable political vendetta, judicial intimidation, and a calculated attempt to pack the courts with NDC-sympathetic justices—as openly promised by President Mahama in Akosombo in 2023,”the Minority stated.
