Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkono (L) and Alexander Afenyo-Markin (R)
Private legal practitioner Thaddeus Sory has alleged that Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin obtained an extraordinary and unprecedented favour from the Supreme Court under the then Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkono an action he says formed a major basis for the petition seeking her removal.
According to Sory, his client’s petition cited a key count involving the Effutu MP, describing how he became the only person in Ghana’s judicial history and possibly in any common law jurisdiction to secure a full Supreme Court panel within just two hours to hear his application.
Speaking in an interview with KSM, the lawyer insisted that the orders granted to the Minority Leader under Justice Torkonoo’s watch were of a nature no court operating under common law principles would ordinarily issue based on the scope of the application filed.
“We said that he had set a precedent indeed a record in the court by being the only person who, within two hours, was able to get a full panel of the Supreme Court presided over by the erstwhile Chief Justice to give him orders that no court in the world, in the common law jurisdiction, would give,” Sory stated.
The lawyer explained that this extraordinary access and outcome raised serious concerns for his client and contributed significantly to their petition for Justice Torkonoo’s removal.
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He argued that the incident created an appearance of bias and raised questions about the relationship between the former Chief Justice and the Minority Leader.
Sory added that individuals familiar with both parties later approached him, suggesting that he did not understand the closeness between them.
He recalled being told that Justice Torkonoo and Afenyo-Markin “come from the same place,” and that when her father passed away, the Minority Leader hosted her visitors—claims he said were relayed to him by those present.
According to the lawyer, these revelations strengthened his conviction that if he had appeared at the next sitting of the proceedings, he would have raised an objection directly against the former Chief Justice.
Sory further stated that the conduct of the Minority Leader “even went further to affect” senior Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Pwamang, who chaired the committee that recommended Justice Torkonoo’s removal.
He argued that Justice Pwamang’s own report contributed to the problems surrounding the petition and maintained that the entire chain of events became clearer as proceedings unfolded.
The lawyer also alleged that new information indicates certain services within the Judicial Service are linked to Afenyo-Markin and that he financially benefits from them.
He suggested that this personal interest explains the Minority Leader’s strong public stance on matters related to the judiciary, including the nomination of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
Beyond the allegations, Sory criticised the current parliamentary approval process for judicial nominees, insisting that the Constitution speaks of “prior approval,” not vetting.
He proposed an alternative method where nominees are approved based on background checks and CV reviews, with vetting reserved only for areas requiring clarification.
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