Legal counsel for suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has rejected calls for the proceedings related to the counsel’s removal to be held in camera.

The immediate-past Attorney-General and Minister for Justice has requested a public hearing, insisting that all matters related to his client’s suspension have already been made public, subjecting her to intense public scrutiny.

Mr Godfred Dame, who spoke in an interview yesterday, Thursday, May 22, citing transparency and fairness, said, “It cannot be a secret. There ought to be light on the proceeding because she has already been damaged in the public domain. There is nothing that threatens public harm, public order, or public safety in this proceeding such as to warrant that it should be in the dark or in camera.”

“On the contrary, the conduct of the government so far, together with what has been witnessed in the whole of proceedings, will rather require that it ought to be in the public,” he said.

He made these remarks in response to calls by some individuals, such as Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim, who has defended the in-camera hearing decision, citing Article 146 (10) of the Constitution, which mandates confidentiality in such hearings.Shamima Muslim insists that this provision is not optional but a legal requirement meant to protect the judiciary, petitioners, and the integrity of the process.Presently, there are ongoing legal disputes surrounding Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s suspension.

Background

A series of petitions have been filed against Chief Justice Torkornoo, beginning with one from a group known as Shining Stars of Ghana.

The group alleges she violated Article 144 of the Constitution by personally recommending judges for promotion to the Supreme Court and further claims she ruled on a case involving the Speaker of Parliament without granting him a hearing, despite his refusal to respond to the suit.

Another petition from a police officer who is also a lawyer accuses the Chief Justice of manipulating evidence and abusing her authority following an incident during a Supreme Court session where he was reportedly reprimanded, arrested, and detained. However, court records suggest the lawyer’s conduct during proceedings prompted a unanimous caution from the bench, not just from the Chief Justice.

A third petition, submitted by a private individual, lists 21 alleged misconducts and four claims of incompetence. Among the accusations is the misuse of public funds—specifically, that she spent over GH¢261,000 and $30,000 on a family trip abroad in 2023 and misused an additional GH¢75,580 and $14,000 during another foreign assignment without proper accountability.

Subsequent reports indicate two more petitions have been added to the list, intensifying pressure on the judiciary.

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, in her written response to President Mahama, strongly denied allegations of misconduct and abuse of office brought against her by a senior police officer, describing them as baseless and lacking grounds for her removal from office.

A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the matter. The committee is 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 Associate Professor James Sefah Dzisah of the University of Ghana.

Legal matters arising

Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Ekow Vincent Assafuah, has moved to challenge the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, filing an application at the Supreme Court to injunct the presidential decision.

The notice of motion, dated April 24, is a direct response to President John Dramani Mahama’s April 22 suspension of the Chief Justice, which was carried out in line with Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution after consultations with the Council of State and a determination that a prima facie case existed.

According to Mr Assafuah, the process that led to the Chief Justice’s suspension violated constitutional provisions, as she was not informed of the petitions nor given an opportunity to respond before the President engaged the Council of State.

He further described the actions taken thus far, including the formation of an investigative committee, as “a farce and the product of a preconceived orchestration to unconstitutionally remove the Chief Justice from office.”

Ekow Vincent Assafuah filed an injunction application to halt the process for the removal of the Chief Justice; however, this application was also dismissed by the Supreme Court on May 6.

The second interlocutory injunction application challenging the process for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo from office has been thrown out by the apex court.The Supreme Court, by a 4 to 1 majority decision, deemed the application by a private citizen, Theodore Kofi Atta-Quartey, unmeritorious on Wednesday, May 21.

The five-member panel comprised Justices Paul Baffoe-Bonnie (Presiding), Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Yonny Kulendi, Henry Anthony Kwofie, and Yaw Asare Darko. Justice Yaw Asare Darko was the only one who disagreed with the majority's opinion.

Justice Torkornoo heads to court

Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has headed to the Supreme Court to prevent the committee set up by President John Mahama to probe the petitions seeking her removal from office.

She is also requesting the apex court to halt her suspension issued by the President under Article 146(10) of the Constitution until a final determination is made on the matter.

On Wednesday, May 21, her legal team at Dame and Partners filed an interlocutory injunction application.

The defendants per the writ, are Attorney-General Dr Dominic Ayine, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, Daniel Yao Domelovo, Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah.

The plaintiff has prayed the apex court to restrain the committee from proceeding with any further inquiry as well as prevent Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, the acting Chief Justice, from participating in the process.

Experts react to Torkornoo's suit

A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, believes that Justice Torkornoo should have first sought counsel from the Judicial Council before heading to the apex court.

“The Judicial Council has been established to aid successive Chief Justices to behave themselves. So if an incumbent Chief Justice has a problem, her first port of call should be to seek counsel. I don’t think that has been done," he said.

Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, described the suspended Chief Justice's move as interesting.

“I’m happy that the suspended Chief Justice is going to have the benefit of how the justice system works. Just like any one of us, her leadership may need the benefits of the very justice she, together with others, over the years, delivered to people," he said while engaging the media in an interview.