Presidential Staffer, Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, has alleged that the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, is being manipulated by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Jantuah says she suspects the NPP to be the mastermind behind the Chief Justice’s posturing since the petitions against her became public, prompting her to resort to legal battles and public comments amid the ongoing probe.
Her comments follow a press briefing by the suspended CJ on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, where she alleged human rights violations and unconstitutional practices in the ongoing impeachment process.
Justice Torkornoo’s suspension on April 22, 2025, followed three petitions alleging misconduct, which President John Mahama deemed sufficient to trigger an investigation under Article 146(6) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
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, Nana Yaa Jantuah believes the NPP are behind it.
The former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), speaking on the BigIssue on TV3’s NewDay Thursday, June 26, 2025, suggested that Madam Torkornoo should have waited until the probe was over before speaking out, after being declared innocent of the allegations against her.
“You haven’t even gone through the middle of the process [but] you’re making excuses, you’re all over the place, going to court… She is allowing the NPP to mislead her,” she noted.
When asked how sure she was about such an allegation, Nana Yaa Jantuah said, “They are the ones doing this. Don’t you see their fingerprints all over what she is doing?”
She advised the suspended CJ to apply some decorum to her actions as a Chief Justice, given the high repute of her office, despite someone acting in her stead amid her suspension.
CJ Torkonoo explains why she hasn’t resigned despite calls for her to step down
