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The Minority in Parliament has described the petition for the removal of the Chief Justice (CJ), Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, as a serious setback to Ghana’s democratic journey.
At a press conference in Parliament yesterday, the Legal Counsel for the Minority Caucus, John Darko, said the attempt to remove the CJ is part of a wider scheme to silence the judiciary and exert political control over the legal system.
He warned that the move threatens to repeat dark episodes in Ghana’s history where the judiciary was attacked and manipulated for political gains. Referring to past incidents, including the murder of three judges in 1982 under the PNDC regime, Mr Darko said what the country is witnessing today is an attempt to revive such dangerous precedents.
“The NDC, which is an offshoot of the PNDC, seems to believe that Ghanaians have voted for them to control society, including the judiciary,” he said.
He added that the petition is based on flimsy grounds, including claims that the CJ advised the President on judicial appointments, ruled on an ex-parte motion involving the Speaker of Parliament, and allegedly misappropriated GH¢75,000, allegations he dismissed as baseless.
Mr Darko cited Article 146 of the Constitution, which stipulates that a Supreme Court Judge can only be removed on grounds of stated misbehaviour, incompetence, or infirmity.
“How can any serious country entertain such loose petitions aimed at destroying the last bastion of our democracy?” he questioned.
He further disclosed that there are ongoing efforts to invoke Article 146(10)(a) to suspend the CJ and appoint known sympathisers of the ruling government as acting Chief Justices.
“To the judge or judges who may entertain the idea that Justice Torkornoo must be destroyed before you can rise, remember that you can rise together. But if you destroy someone to rise, posterity will not be kind to you,” he cautioned.
He called on Ghana’s development partners, foreign missions, traditional and religious leaders to intervene immediately and help safeguard the independence of the judiciary.
“To our revered traditional and religious leaders, the time to call the President to advise him is now. We should not wait until it is too late,” Mr Darko appealed.
He concluded by calling on the people of Ghana to resist any attempt to weaken the judiciary, saying justice emanates from the people and any attack on the courts is ultimately an attack on citizens.
