Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, a Ghanaian lawyer based in the US, has rebutted suspended Chief Justice (CJ) Gertrude Torkornoo’s claims that the Supreme Court is targeting her.
He emphasises that, like all citizens, the CJ is equal before the law under the 1992 Constitution and should adhere to its provisions.
His comments follow a Wednesday, June 25, 2025, press briefing by the suspended CJ, alleging human rights violations and unconstitutional practices in the ongoing impeachment process.
Madam Torkornoo was suspended by President John Dramani Mahama after three citizens filed separate petitions calling for her removal.
Following the petitions, a prima facie case was established, prompting the President to suspend the CJ pending investigation by a committee to determine the validity of the allegations.
However, Chief Justice Torkornoo, in an application to the Supreme Court, requested that the petition, typically held in camera as Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution mandates, be made public.
Although the application was thrashed by the Supreme Court, Professor Asare argues that this request constitutes a breach of the Constitution, warranting separate grounds for her removal, as it violates her constitutional oath of office.
On his Facebook page Wednesday, June 25, Prof. Asare indicated that Madam Torkornoo had no license to flout the law if she disagreed with the Committee constituted to probe the petitions against her.
“The narrative that the Supreme Court is “out to get” the Chief Justice is constitutionally irrelevant. Under Article 2(1), all persons are equal before the Constitution and equally subject to its constraints. If every citizen must obey an order to conduct proceedings in camera, then so must the Chief Justice,” he wrote.
He added that “disagreement with the judiciary or a constitutional investigative vessel does not confer a license to flout constitutional requirements. The proper response lies in lawful remedies, not unilateral defiance.”
Professor Asare questions the relevance of Ghana’s constitutional democracy if the Chief Justice can breach the constitution without consequences.
“If the Chief Justice is permitted to violate Article 146, we must ask: are constitutional provisions still binding? Are Supreme Court orders still authoritative? If not, then we are no longer a nation governed by law, but a system of arbitrary discretion,” he stated, adding that Ghana settles on either the rule of law or lawlessness.
“We either uphold constitutionalism or we embrace impunity. We cannot do both,” he advised.
