Ghana’s Supreme Court will hear an injunction application filed against the procedure being used by the President for the potential removal of the Chief Justice (CJ) on Wednesday, April 02, 2025.
This follows the receipt of three separate petitions by the President from some citizens who feel the CJ, for some reasons currently unknown to the public, needs to be ousted from office.
The President has subsequently forwarded the petitions to the Council of State as a constitutional requirement.
The procedure, is what the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has filed an injunction against at the apex court.
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo, had prior to the Supreme Court’s decision wrote a letter to the President and copied other stakeholders demanding copies of the petitions that have been filed for her removal.
The CJ’s request came shortly after the suit by the Old Tafo MP at the Supreme Court questioning the procedure being used to handle the petitions.
The plaintiff, represented by Godfred Yeboah Dame, the former Attorney-General, is of the view that the Chief Justice should be informed of the petitions and officially be given copies to provide a response before the Council of State is consulted.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has confirmed the submission of the three petitions to the Council of State in line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
The Council of State is expected to review the petitions and provide guidance to the President on the appropriate course of action.
In her letter to the President dated Thursday, March 27, Chief Justice Torkornoo requested a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations against her before further steps are taken.
“I am by this letter humbly and respectfully asking His Excellency the President and eminent members of the Council of State to forward the petitions against me to me, and allow me at least seven days after receipt of same, to provide my response to you, which response can then form part of the material that you conduct the consultations anticipated under 146 (6), before the possible setting up of a Committee of Inquiry under Article 146 (7),” she stated.
The plaintiff, Mr. Assafuah, acting as a concerned citizen under Article 2(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution, seeks several declarations from the Supreme Court, whose original jurisdiction he is invoking, regarding the interpretation of constitutional provisions governing the removal of a Chief Justice.
The suit argues that the President must notify the Chief Justice and obtain the comments of the Chief Justice before initiating consultation with the Council of State on the matter.
Chief Justice requests copies of petitions seeking her removal from office
