The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has renewed calls for the reinstatement of suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, invoking the spirit of reconciliation and urging the nation to rise above what it describes as a culture of settling scores.
The plea was made on Friday, June 28, during a memorial service commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the abduction and murder of three High Court judges and a retired army officer.
Delivering a message at the event, GBA President Efua Ghartey said the association, along with other legal bodies—including the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association—has consistently expressed concern about the ongoing removal proceedings against Justice Torkornoo.
“The Ghana Bar Association as well as other legal associations, both local and international, have made their voices heard on the ongoing process for the removal of the Chief Justice of Ghana, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo,” she said.
She emphasized that any Superior Court judge deserves to be “well apprised of the entire process” before facing disciplinary action, stressing that defending the judiciary’s independence is a duty the Bar will not relinquish.
“In the spirit of fairness, rising to the defense of the judiciary’s independence is the mandate of the Ghana Bar Association, and this is not personality-driven,” she added.
The GBA’s call comes days after Justice Torkornoo publicly condemned her suspension as a siege on the judiciary, warning of politically driven attacks on the country’s legal institutions.
Mrs Ghartey added, “On this day that we meet to honour the memory of the martyrs of the rule of law, let us resolve as a nation to do ourselves proud and humbly walk away from settling scores endlessly, as we are one nation with one destiny.”
She urged reconsideration of the suspension, describing it as a move that “sets a poor precedent,” and said the Bar was confident such calls would “not go unheeded.”
“We yearn for peace and strive for justice,” the GBA President concluded.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo was suspended in April 2025 following petitions for her removal from office, a process that has since stirred wide public debate.
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