The Member of Parliament for Gushegu, Hassan Tampuli, says the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo did not come as a surprise, pointing to earlier remarks and actions by members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) as signs of what was to come.

Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Monday, September 1, the MP said many Ghanaians had already anticipated the outcome, based on the tone and rhetoric from key government officials in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.

“I think there is no Ghanaian who will be surprised about the outcome of the committee’s hearings today — the way it started,” Tampuli said.

“It started in the run-up to the elections — talk about reset, and the attempts to find a way to restructure the judiciary.”

He recalled what he described as “thinly veiled threats” against the judiciary during the transition period and mentioned a remark by a current Minister for Communications suggesting the President “had to purge the judiciary.”

“So it wasn’t really a surprise when we heard that there were petitions against the CJ,” he added.

Tampuli’s comments followed the removal Chief Justice Torkornoo from office by President John Mahama based on the findings of a Committee of Inquiry set up under Article 146 of the Constitution.

The committee upheld allegations of stated misbehaviour brought forward in a petition by a private citizen.

The Minister for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu in an interview said the President acted in accordance with constitutional provisions and not out of personal or political motivation.

“The role of the President is clearly defined under Article 146, and since March this year, the President has strictly adhered to the constitutional tenets and has done everything in consonance with constitutional provision,” Kwakye Ofosu told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Akwatia Watch, also on Channel One TV.

“So it must be emphasised that we have arrived at this juncture because of what the Constitution says and not necessarily what the President believes,” he added.