A petition seeking the removal of Justice Yonny Kulendi from office as a Justice of the Supreme Court has been quashed by President John Dramani Mahama, based on the advice of the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.

The decision was communicated in a letter dated December 4, 2025, signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, and sent to the petitioner, Daniel Marfo Ofori-Atta.

“I have the instructions of His Excellency the President to respond to your petition dated 30 September 2025 on the above matter,” the letter stated.

Dr Mahama stated that, under Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution, the President forwarded the petition to the Chief Justice on October 20, 2025, to assess whether it established a prima facie case.

“By a letter dated 2 December 2025, the Chief Justice informed His Excellency the President that no prima facie case had been established by the petition to warrant any further investigation,” the letter said.

Quoting the Chief Justice’s determination, the letter noted: “In the circumstances, the Petitioner’s own evidential material undermines and collapses the factual foundation of the allegations.

“When compared against the sworn testimony of Mr Jakpa, the petition’s claim that Justice Kulendi abused his office to secure bail for his cousin and that he sought to inappropriately influence the outcome of the case is exposed as a clear distortion of the record and fails to disclose any evidentiary basis upon which a prima facie finding can be properly grounded.

“In conclusion, it is my determination that this petition fails to meet the evidential threshold required to establish a prima facie case under Article 146(3) of the Constitution. Accordingly, I find that no prima facie case has been established against Justice Yonny Kulendi by the Petitioner.”

Dr Mahama added that, “In view of the Chief Justice’s determination that the constitutional threshold under Article 146(3) has not been met, no further steps are required in respect of your petition. The matter is therefore concluded.”

The Minister for Goverment Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, also confirmed this development in a Facebook post.

Background

Daniel Marfo Ofori-Atta submitted a petition to President Mahama on October 2, 2025, seeking the removal of Justice Kulendi, after previously filing a petition with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

The petitions called for investigations into Justice Kulendi and his cousin, Richard Jakpa, over claims of attempts to influence the administration of justice.

The claims arose from the widely followed case, Republic v Cassiel Ato Forson & two others, in which Jakpa, who serves as Director of Operations at the National Security Secretariat, was listed as the third accused person.

Ofori-Atta alleged that Justice Kulendi sought to interfere with justice in violation of the code of conduct required of a Supreme Court judge, contending that the actions amounted to stated misbehaviour and made him unsuitable to remain in office.

Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2020, alongside Professor Henrietta J. A. N. Mensa-Bonsu, by then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Their nominations followed approval by Parliament’s Appointments Committee after vetting conducted on May 11 and 12, 2020, and final parliamentary endorsement on May 20, 2020.

A couple of months ago, President John Dramani Mahama relieved embattled Chief Justice Gertrude Tokornoo of her duties with immediate effect.

A press statement issued by the presidency and signed by the Spokesperson to the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, indicated that her dismissal is in accordance with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution.

President Mahama, on Tuesday, April 22, suspended the Chief Justice after a prima facie case was established, following separate petitions calling for her removal.

However, the new development comes shortly after President John Dramani Mahama officially received recommendations from the committee probing petitions seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, today, Monday, September 1.

The presidency justified its decision to dismiss the Chief Justice, citing findings from the Article 146 Committee of Inquiry.

According to the statement, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehavior under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.

“President John Dramani Mahama has, in accordance with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution, removed the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo, from office with immediate effect.

“This follows receipt of the report of the Committee constituted under Article 146(6) to inquire into a petition submitted by a Ghanaian citizen, Mr Daniel Ofori. After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.

“Under Article 146(9), the President is required to act in accordance with the committee's recommendation,” parts of the statement read.

The committee chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang and includes Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo of the Ghana Armed Forces, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah of the University of Ghana.

In July, an application for review regarding an ‘abuse of court processes’ by the embattled Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, was dismissed by the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court.

The court presided over by Justice Amoako on Thursday, July 31, revealed that several claims, such as illegal composition of the committee and wrongful conduct of adversarial proceedings, were already before the Supreme Court.

Justice Amoako argued that relitigating these issues would result in duplication of litigation and abuse of court processes. As such, such claims were dismissed.

The judge also dismissed reliefs such as an order of certiorari to quash the committee’s proceedings and nullify its sittings on the basis that the Chief Justice did not receive a fair hearing, on jurisdictional grounds.

The judicial review application filed on June 9 this year sought nine reliefs, which included a series of declarations that the Article 146 committee set up to probe her removal from office had acted unlawfully.

She wanted the court to prevent the committee from proceeding with its work without providing her with authenticated copies of the petitions seeking her removal and the subsequent responses.

The Chief Justice notes that the president's purported prima facie determination contained no reasons or justification and was entirely devoid of the elements of judicial or quasi-judicial reasoning expected under the Constitution.

As the proceedings of the Article 146 committee are to be held in-camera in accordance with Article 146(8) of the Constitution, the court noted that it could not inquire into matters raised by the suspended Chief Justice.