Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah has taken a swipe at suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Esaaba Torkonoo, accusing her of selfishness and partisanship.
According to her, the embattled Chief Justice has failed to champion meaningful reforms in the justice system, particularly the passage of the non-custodial sentencing bill, since assuming office.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day programme on Thursday, June 26, Yaa Jantuah argued that the bill, which seeks alternative punishments for minor offences, would have helped reduce the number of young men in Ghana’s overcrowded prisons.
“If you go to the prisons of Ghana, 70% of the population are between ages 18 to 35—men who are part of the active workforce. And some of their crimes? Somebody stole a goat. Very petty things that could have been punished with community service,” she said.
She added, “If this woman couldn’t do anything else, she should have led the call for the passage of the non-custodial sentencing bill. Some of these young people come from homes where, through no fault of theirs, they have no proper guidance. They fall into the wrong hands and end up in jail.”
Instead of prioritising such reforms, Yaa Jantuah claimed Justice Torkonoo spent her time in office ensuring the New Patriotic Party (NPP) always won its court cases.
“She was rather busy making sure that whatever the NDC or any other party that is not NPP brought to court, they wouldn’t succeed. That’s how she got the nickname ‘The Unanimous FC.’ She’s only thinking about herself,” she stated.
Justice Torkonoo is currently facing a committee of inquiry over three petitions seeking her removal from office.
However, she has asserted that the allegations in the petitions are either outright lies or misguided opinions about her professional conduct.
