Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has dismissed criticisms suggesting that President John Mahama’s decision to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo sets a bad precedent.
Speaking in an interview on Ekosii Sen on Asempa FM, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu insisted that the President acted strictly in compliance with constitutional requirements after a duly constituted Committee of Inquiry recommended the Chief Justice’s removal.
“The fundamental principle of democracy is that nobody is above the law. If a highly regarded personality or even the head of an arm of government is petitioned, and due process is followed, then there is no issue,” he stressed.
He argued that it would have been a genuine constitutional crisis if the President had acted arbitrarily.
“If it was the case that President Mahama just removed her after the petition without recourse to due process, that would have set a terrible precedent. But every step of the way, the law was followed, and the Committee’s recommendation was clear.”
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu further noted that critics were “losing sight” of the fact that the process exemplified Ghana’s democratic values.
“Nobody is too powerful to escape accountability, and ensuring due process is the true safeguard against bad precedent,” he added.
Chief Justice Torkornoo’s removal follows petitions received by the President under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, alleging stated misbehaviour.
A Committee of Inquiry chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Pwamang probed the petitions over a four-month period. The Committee eventually determined that the allegations had been proven and, in accordance with Article 146(9), recommended her removal.
On Monday, September 1, 2025, President Mahama received the Committee’s recommendation, making Justice Torkornoo the first sitting Chief Justice to be removed under the constitutional process.
Source: Gertrude Otchere
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