Anokye Frimpong (L) says Nkrumah’s foreign minister Quaison-Sackey (R) is Justice Torkornoo’s uncle
Lawyer and historian Yaw Anokye Frimpong has said that suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo undermined herself by publicly disclosing that she is the niece of Major Sam Acquah, the soldier who was murdered alongside three judges on June 30, 1982.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on June 26, 2025, the historian argued that Justice Torkornoo’s revelation has drawn public attention to her family ties with Dr Alex Quaison-Sackey, whom he claims played a key role in the betrayal that led to the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in 1966.
Anokye Frimpong explained that the disclosure by the embattled Chief Justice effectively made it known that her father was the brother of Dr Alex Quaison-Sackey, who served as Nkrumah’s Foreign Affairs Minister.
He alleged that Major Acquah, whom Nkrumah deeply trusted, accepted money from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States and betrayed Ghana’s first president.
“Until she disclosed that, I didn’t even know that her direct uncle, her father’s brother, was the same man who betrayed Kwame Nkrumah: Dr Alex Quaison-Sackey.
“He (Quaison-Sackey) took money from the CIA. He was Nkrumah’s most trusted confidant. He assured Nkrumah that he could travel safely, that there would be no coup because the CIA had promised to make him the next president of Ghana,” Anokye Frimpong alleged.
He added, “That man’s niece is this woman. Until all of this came out, I wouldn’t have known. So she should let sleeping dogs lie. Whether she likes it or not, she will not be the Chief Justice of Ghana forever.”
Background:
Suspend Chief Justice Torkornoo, at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, claimed the choice of the venue for the hearing of the three petitions for her removal, the Adu Lodge, was deliberately selected to intimidate her.
According to her, the Adu Lodge featured very prominently in the planning of the murder of three High Court Judges, and her uncle, Major Sam Acquah, on June 30, 1981, and was chosen for her ‘trial’ to make her “feel insecure”.
“Was Adu Lodge chosen for this inquiry to make me feel insecure? I think so. And I continue to hold the view that there is no reason to hold a quasi-judicial hearing behind the high walls of Adu Lodge,” she said.
President John Dramani Mahama disclosed that the CIA was responsible for the removal of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Speaking at the 68th Independence Day celebration at the Jubilee House on March 6, 2025, the president disclosed that declassified US intelligence documents show that the CIA was behind the coup that removed Nkrumah while he was out of the country.
“The verdict of history is now loud and clear. Declassified documents from the United States archives reveal that this was a coup inspired and engineered by the CIA,” he said.
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