Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo (L) and Judicial Secretary Pamela Koranteng
The Judicial Secretary of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Her Ladyship Cyra Pamela Koranteng, has stepped down from her position.
According to renowned private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Her Ladyship Koranteng resigned due to the fallout from allegations of financial misappropriation against suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, who is accused of using state funds for a foreign trip with her family.
“Judicial Secretary has resigned over fallout from Chief Justice’s wife and children travelling on state funds.
“She becomes the first Judicial Secretary to resign from that office,” Barker-Vormawor wrote in a post shared on X on Friday, April 25, 2025.
Following the post, GhanaWeb has cited a memorandum issued by Acting Chief Justice Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, confirming the acceptance of Her Ladyship Koranteng’s resignation.
The memorandum was addressed to Dr. Cyracus Badinye Bapuuroh, directing him to assume the duties of Judicial Secretary.
“At the 291st Meeting of the Judicial Council held on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, the Council accepted the request by HL Cyra Pamela Koranteng to be released from the duties of Judicial Secretary. Wherefore, you are hereby directed to assume the duties of Judicial Secretary pending a decision by the Judicial Council and the eventual appointment of a substantive Judicial Secretary.
“Members of the Judiciary, the Judicial Service of Ghana, and the general public are to take note accordingly. Please accept my best wishes,” the memorandum reads.
About the financial misappropriation allegation against the Chief Justice:
One of the three petitions, which was presented to President John Dramani Mahama by one Daniel Ofori on Monday, March 17, 2025, accused Justice Torkornoo of financial misappropriation of about GH¢261,890 and US$30,000 in her foreign trips.
“In 2023, the Honourable Chief Justice misappropriated the sum of GH¢261,890.00 of public funds for the benefit of the Chief Justice for her private foreign travel with her husband, Mr Francis Kofi Torkornoo, and her daughter, Miss Edem S.A. Torkornoo, and US$30,000 in per diem allowance when, to her knowledge, neither the husband of the Chief Justice nor the Chief Justice’s daughter were entitled to have their travel or any travel allowances paid for out of the funds of the Judicial Service,” part of Ofori’s petition reads.
In her response, the Chief Justice denied allegations of misappropriating GH¢261,890 of public funds for private foreign travel with her husband and daughter.
According to the Chief Justice, who has been suspended by the president following the establishment of a prima facie case against her, the claim that her spouse and daughter were not entitled to have their travel funded by the Judicial Service is “untruthful and unfortunate” within the context of her appointment letter and the Judicial Service Foreign Travel Policy.
“My appointment letter, which should have been included in the original bundle as Exhibit DO1, clearly outlines the terms of my appointment as Chief Justice. These terms include two round-trip tickets for official vacations, each capped at a maximum of 14 days. Paragraph B1 of the appointment letter specifies that travel expenses, hotel accommodation, and per diem for these holidays are to be borne by the Judicial Service,” she noted in her response.
She emphasised that the Judicial Service Policy on Foreign Travel, among other provisions, permits a Chief Justice to “undertake unlimited official travels with either his/her spouse or other person of his/her choice in a year, fully funded by the Judicial Service.”
BAI/MA
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