The Minority caucus in Parliament has condemned the suspension of the Chief Justice of the Republic, Her Ladyship Gertrude Esaaba Torkornoo, by President John Dramani Mahama.
The NPP MPs described the move as nothing short of a brazen judicial coup, a reckless abuse of Executive power, and a direct assault on the independence of the country’s judiciary.
In a statement dated April 22, the Minority called on the President to reverse the decision, especially because there is an ongoing case at the Supreme Court challenging the process.
“The decision by President John Dramani Mahama to suspend Her Ladyship Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo… is nothing short of a brazen judicial coup, a reckless abuse of Executive power, and a direct assault on the independence of Ghana’s Judiciary.
“This move, taken while legitimate legal challenges are pending before the Supreme Court, reeks of intolerable political vendetta, judicial intimidation, and a calculated attempt to pack the courts with NDC-sympathetic justices — as openly promised by President Mahama in Akosombo in 2023,” the statement said in part.
The Minority cautioned that they will resist any further attempts to harass, intimidate, or unlawfully remove the Chief Justice.
They also warned that any effort to pack the judiciary with politically compliant judges would be challenged to the fullest extent of the law.
They further demanded “the immediate reinstatement of the Chief Justice pending the Supreme Court’s determination of the pending legal challenges” and “a halt to all removal proceedings until the judiciary has conclusively ruled on the constitutionality of the process.”
