The five-member committee constituted by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate three petitions brought against Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has presented its report to the president.

Presenting the report to President Mahama at the Jubilee House on Monday, September 1, 2025, the Chairman of the Committee, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, said the report contained the committee’s recommendations on the first of three petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice on grounds of stated misbehavior.

In a statement shared via social media, the Presidency provided details on the report presented on Monday.

On the first petition, filed by Daniel Ofori, the committee heard evidence from 13 witnesses on behalf of the petitioner.

The Chief Justice, who also testified and was cross-examined, called 12 witnesses, including experts.



In total, the panel received approximately 10,000 pages of documentary exhibits from both sides. Each side was represented by four lawyers.

“After critical and dispassionate examination and assessment of all the evidence, including the expert evidence, against the provisions of the constitution and the relevant laws, we have, without fear or favour, arrived at a recommendation on the first petition,” the chairman said, before handing the recommendation to the president in a sealed envelope.



President Mahama suspends Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo

According to the Presidency, Justice Pwamang noted that the second petitioner, as well as the Chief Justice, requested an adjournment of the second petition, which the committee granted.



“Accordingly, we shall be reporting on the second and third petitions in due time,” he said.

President John Dramani Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo on April 22, 2025. This unprecedented action, the first of its kind under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, was triggered by three petitions filed against the Chief Justice, alleging misconduct and incompetence.

The petitions, submitted by Kingsley Agyei of Shining Stars of Ghana, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ayamga Yakubu Akolgo, and private citizen Daniel Ofori, prompted President Mahama to act under Article 146, which governs the removal of superior court justices.

Following consultations with the Council of State, the President established a prima facie case, leading to Justice Torkornoo’s suspension and the formation of a five-member inquiry committee chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang.

The committee, which includes Justice Samuel Adibu-Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah-Dzisah, began hearings in May 2025, with Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie appointed as Acting Chief Justice.

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The allegations against Justice Torkornoo center on several contentious issues. One petition accuses her of misusing public funds, specifically GH¢261,890 and US$30,000, for personal family trips abroad.

Justice Torkornoo countered that Judicial Service policy requires the Chief Justice to travel with a companion for security, and she returned $9,600 of a $14,000 per diem, providing receipts for the remainder.

Another petition claims she improperly transferred cases, which she defended as routine administrative actions aligned with judicial policy. Additionally, allegations of tampering with court records have surfaced, which the Chief Justice has denied, noting that Supreme Court decisions are collective and records are managed by court staff, not individual judges.

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Reports from the committee hearing indicate that the Chief Justice and her character witnesses, including former Chief Justices Sophia Akuffo and Kwasi Anin Yeboah, argued that the process lacks transparency, particularly as she was initially denied access to the petitions and the President’s prima facie findings.

Legal luminaries such as Nana Dr. S.K.B. Asante and Samuel Okudzeto, alongside the Ghana Bar Association, also testified before the committee in August 2025, defending her actions as consistent with judicial norms.

Her witnesses emphasized that her recommendation of five Supreme Court judges followed consultations with the Judiciary, Attorney General, and GBA.

Justice Torkornoo has vigorously challenged her suspension, filing an unsuccessful injunction with Ghana’s Supreme Court in May 2025 and escalating the matter to the ECOWAS Court in July 2025.

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Her ECOWAS suit claims violations of her rights to a fair hearing, dignity, and fair working conditions under the African Charter, seeking $10 million in compensation and the reversal of her suspension.

The case has drawn international attention, with the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association urging her reinstatement.

However, government officials, including the Attorney General, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, have maintained that the President’s actions align with the dictates of the country’s Constitution and the processes for the removal of a Chief Justice.





GA/MA



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