The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has raised concerns over President John Dramani Mahama’s suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, citing a lack of transparency and a regulatory framework guiding the decision.
President Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo on Tuesday, April 22, after a prima facie case was established following petitions submitted by private citizen Daniel Ofori, senior police officer Ayamga Akolgo, and the civic group Shining Stars of Ghana. A five-member committee has been constituted to investigate the matter.
Lawyer Baffour Awuah questioned the constitutional soundness and procedural clarity of the suspension.
“The president, in deciding to suspend, is adjudicating. Adjudication involves decision making, and that decision making in this circumstance is perfectly situated or Article 146 [10] is perfectly situated within it,” he stated.
He emphasised that the absence of a Constitutional Instrument (CI) to define the circumstances under which a Chief Justice may be suspended makes it difficult to assess the fairness and transparency of the process.
“How do we judge the fairness, candour, or the lack of arbitrariness of this decision? The only way we could have judged it is the existence of a constitutional Instrument. Here we are, we don’t have the benefits of the decision that went into the suspension.
“We don’t have the benefit of a constitutional Instrument to give us a fore knowledge of the circumstances under which a Chief Justice may be suspended. And this is a Chief Justice who was vetted and approved by Parliament. And I call her the people’s Chief Justice because of her role under Article 124 [5] of the constitution,” he stated.
“Now you have suspended the people’s Chief Justice in an in camera proceedings without the involvement of Parliament. Nobody in this country knows what decision went into the decision to suspend her,” he said, adding, “This is the more reason why regulation is necessary. Tomorrow she might not be there, and it will be another person, and this will recur.”
