Legal practitioner Martin Luther Kpebu believes the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, overstepped legal boundaries by holding a press conference on the ongoing proceedings regarding the petitions seeking her removal from office.
According to Kpebu, the law prohibits public pronouncements on matters under investigation, particularly under Article 146, which requires such proceedings to be conducted in secret to protect the integrity of both the judiciary and the officer being probed.
Commenting on the matter in a telephone interview on TV3’s NewDay Thursday, June 26, 2025, the lawyer said Madam Torkornoo’s action was beyond the remit of the law.
“Her press conference exceeded the boundary set in law to the extent that, when proceedings such as Article 146 are pending, we are not allowed to comment on the merit, demerits and leak and disclose what’s going on.
“So, it went beyond the prescription of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court says and also in Article 146(8) that the proceedings are held in-camera. They are supposed to be secretive, so that it will help protect the whole system –the judiciary, and the person facing the trial, in this instance the Chief Justice,” he stated.
His 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. But the request was quashed in the apex court’s ruling.
Meanwhile, the lawyer has suggested that the in-camera provision of Article 146 should be reviewed and made public to align with contemporary standards.
‘Torkornoo has confirmed that we don’t have culture of resignation in this country’ – Nyaho-Tamakloe
