Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has declared her intention to remain in office, describing the process surrounding her attempted removal as politically motivated and procedurally flawed.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Wednesday, June 25, she stated that stepping down would suggest she condones an illegitimate course of action.
“If I resign under these circumstances, I will be saying that this flawed, unknown and opaque process is acceptable. It is not,” she said.
Justice Torkornoo’s address marked an unprecedented moment in Ghana’s judicial history, being the first time a suspended Chief Justice has spoken directly to the public regarding their case.
“If it was lawful, I would have no reason to alert the nation of the dangers they represent. It is the clear and blatant violations of law that have forced me to bring these matters out in the light of day,” she emphasized.
Following her suspension and the formation of a five-member committee to investigate the misconduct petitions filed against her, Old Tafo MP Vincent Assafuah submitted an injunction application aimed at halting the process. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the application.
The saga began on April 22, 2025, when Justice Torkornoo was suspended after three petitions alleged misconduct. The subsequent inquiry has been clouded in legal and political contention. Prior to the dismissal of the injunction, the Supreme Court unanimously overruled an objection by Attorney General Godfred Dame, who had challenged the involvement of Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie in the case.
According to the court, Dame’s concerns did not disqualify Justice Baffoe-Bonnie from presiding over the matter, reinforcing the commitment to due judicial process.
In addition to contesting the process through the media, Justice Torkornoo also filed a suit at the Supreme Court through her lawyer, Godfred Dame, on May 21, 2025. The suit seeks 16 reliefs, including a declaration that the prima facie case established against her is “arbitrary, capricious, unconstitutional, void and of no effect.”
She is also requesting that the court affirm her right to a public hearing before any committee investigating a removal petition, citing key constitutional provisions. Furthermore, she claims that both her suspension and the findings against her represent “an unjustified attempt to remove the Plaintiff as Head of Ghana’s Judiciary and thus, an undue infringement on the independence of the Judiciary.”
Despite her legal efforts, the Supreme Court has dismissed her injunction application, leaving the committee’s inquiry into the petitions to proceed.
