A former Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has said he wouldn’t have appeared before the committee probing the petitions against the removal of the Chief Justice (CJ) if he were in the CJ’s position.
He says an in-camera hearing in a country where public matters are often shrouded in controversy wouldn’t provide the transparency and accountability he requires.
“If it is going to be a secret trial, I won’t appear,” he said in an interview on Accra-based JoyNews Thursday, May 8, 2025.
According to him, there’s nothing that can save the Chief Justice if the President decides he wants her out.
He says if he were the CJ, he wouldn’t have made any pleas but would have instead stepped aside based on the established prima facie case against him.
Prof Oquaye says he believes the interpretations stemming from such a hearing might stray from the facts since the public wouldn’t have access to the proceedings.
“If you were to put me in such a trial I won’t go. And I wouldn’t plea. I wouldn’t say anything,” he stated.
He indicated that he would have opted for that stance “because I will like the world to hear and I bow out according to what is being heard.”
According to him, “putting a person in a room, coming out thereafter to say what occurred there, when in this country, we have so much controversy over matters that even all of us are seeing and hearing. You’ll be surprised at all the interpretations.”
He insisted that the process does not truly address the rights of the victim which he says should be properly examined.
“I wouldn’t want to single out any particular event but as a matter of general principle, no Ghanaian would like to go through that process. It is a very important principle and a human rights issue and that’s why I said that human rights of the person who is the victim and accused in this case must be seriously examined with that fair and open trial,” he stated.
The discussion follows the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, by President John Dramani Mahama. The decision followed the establishment of a prima facie case in response to three separate petitions seeking her removal from office.
The decision, in line with Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution and taken in consultation with the Council of State, was announced on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, marking a significant moment in Ghana’s judicial history, as the head of the Judiciary faces an inquiry into her conduct.
Although the specific allegations contained in the petitions have not been publicly disclosed, they have stirred widespread debate within the legal and political circles, raising questions about judicial accountability and integrity of the judiciary’s leadership.
In accordance with constitutional procedures, Chief Justice Torkornoo was furnished with copies of the petitions and given 10 days to respond, which she submitted on April 7, 2025.
Following a review of the response and further consultations, the President determined that a prima facie case had been established. Consequently, a five-member committee was constituted under Article 146(6) to investigate the matter.
The committee is composed as follows:
Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Justice of the Supreme Court – Chairman
Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Justice of the Supreme Court – Member
Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Former Auditor-General – Member
Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo, Ghana Armed Forces – Member
Professor James Sefah Dzisah, Associate Professor, University of Ghana – Member
Per Article 146(10) of the Constitution and upon the advice of the Council of State, the President issued a warrant for the suspension of the Chief Justice pending the outcome of the committee’s investigations.
Suspension of CJ: Politicisation of processes rather damages Torkornoo’s reputation – Gbande to NPP
