A photo collage of Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (L) and Gertrude Araba Torkornoo (R)
The People’s National Party (PNP) has called on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to intervene in what the party describes as a politically motivated attempt by President John Dramani Mahama to remove the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo.
Speaking to the media after submitting a petition at the Manhyia Palace on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, PNP flagbearer for the 2024 elections, Janet Nabila, condemned the circumstances surrounding the Chief Justice’s suspension.
She accused the Mahama-led administration of attempting to exert undue control over all three arms of government, describing the suspension process as “a political witch hunt.”
According to Nabila, Ghana’s democracy is failing, and it is time for the country to turn to its traditional systems of governance, which she said date back centuries and are rooted in the authority of chiefs as custodians of the land.
“If our democracy is not working, we will go back to our roots and ask the chiefs, who are the true custodians of the land, to tell the Mahama government who is just renting part of the land to operate to call him to order,” she asserted.
Nabila also expressed concern over what she described as a pattern of victimisation against women, warning that the ordeal faced by Chief Justice Torkornoo threatens Ghana’s democratic and judicial integrity.
“We came to Manhyia to petition the Asantehene because we believe our traditional authorities must intervene when state institutions fail. As women, we are deeply disturbed that a female Chief Justice is being targeted in this way. I wept listening to her speak about her suffering,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, who was suspended by the President following three separate petitions seeking her removal, has publicly denied all allegations levelled against her.
However, the President has constituted a committee to investigate the matter.
AM/KA
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