Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo has been suspended
The Justice Pwamang’s Committee of Inquiry under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana has ended the taking of evidence relative to the petition of Daniel Ofori for the removal of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Esaaba Araba Sackey Torkornoo, The Law Platform has reported.
According to a report on The Law Platform’s website, “the Committee has ordered for written addresses and is yet to receive same on the allegations of Daniel Ofori and the evidence led in support and against the said allegations.”
The report also listed several high-profile legal luminaries who reportedly appeared to testify on behalf of the embattled and suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, who is the first Chief Justice to have been suspended since the inception of the Fourth Republic.
According to The Law Platform’s sources, former Chief Justices Anin Yeboah and Sophia Akuffo, as well as venerable Professor Nana S.K.B. Asante, all testified in support of the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, during the hearing.
Former president of the Bar Association, venerable Samuel Okudzeto, who has nearly five decades of experience as a lawyer, the long-serving member of the General Legal Council, Justin Amenuvor and the Ghana Bar Association’s Secretary were mentioned to have also testified in support of Justice Torkornoo.
Meanwhile, the report indicated that the committee will resume hearings on September 15, 2025, where its attention will be focused on the petition of Shining Stars, whose lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, sought leave of absence due to illness on the last adjourned date.
Every step taken to remove me breaks justice rules – Suspended CJ Torkornoo
According to the report, the committee adjourned proceedings for four weeks to allow lawyer Barker-Vormawor “recover and wage the case of Shining Stars whose existence as a legal entity and incapacity to bring their petition is before the High Court, General Jurisdiction division as presided by the learned John Eugene Nyante Nyadu J.”
The committee, established by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate three petitions filed against the Chief Justice, commenced hearings on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
The five-member committee, chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang of the Supreme Court, was established by President Mahama in accordance with Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution and in consultation with the Council of State, following a determination of a prima facie case against the Chief Justice.
The committee will be expected to present its recommendations to President Mahama upon completion of its work.
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