In an unprecedented move, President John Dramani Mahama has removed Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, from office, marking the first time a Chief Justice has been removed from office since Ghana’s independence in 1957.
The decision follows a detailed investigation by a parliamentary committee that uncovered serious allegations of misconduct, including the unlawful expenditure of public funds and abuse of discretionary power.
To arrive at its conclusion, the committee’s panel reviewed 10,000 pages of evidence from 13 witnesses on behalf of the petitioner, Daniel Ofori. The chief justice also testified and called 12 other witnesses, including experts.
The vacancy left by Torkornoo’s removal will now require a swift appointment process. Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie serves as acting Chief Justice as the Judicial Council, under his leadership, recommends a senior judge for President Mahama to nominate as Chief Justice, requiring parliamentary approval, with consultations ongoing for a swift appointment.
The committee’s report outlined key findings that led to Torkornoo’s dismissal. The investigation revealed that the Chief Justice incurred significant travel expenses, funded by the Judicial Service, during personal holidays in September 2023.
These trips included a journey to Tanzania with her husband and another to the United States with her daughter, for which per diem payments were also made to her spouse and child. The committee deemed these expenditures unjustifiable under Ghanaian law and policy, labelling them as “avoidable and reckless dissipation of public funds.”
This misuse, attributed to Torkornoo as the head of the Judiciary, was cited as a breach of her duty to safeguard public resources. A second charge of abuse of discretionary power stemmed from the Chief Justice’s alleged interference in judicial appointments.
The committee found her actions to be misaligned with the Constitution, describing the process as “malicious” and contrary to established norms. This interference reportedly involved attempts to bypass the Supreme Court, a move the committee linked to her overall pattern of misbehaviour.
The findings were described by government sources as so compelling that they prompted a recommendation for her removal, a decision endorsed by the Council of State and formalised by Mahama’s suspension order on April 22.
Torkornoo, who rose to the role of Ghana’s 15th Chief Justice on June 12, 2023, after being nominated by then-president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has been a prominent figure in the judiciary.
The removal process, though rare, aligns with constitutional mechanisms designed to ensure judicial accountability, a principle underscored by academic discussions on balancing judicial independence with oversight, as noted in a 2021 Academia.edu study.
Public reaction has been mixed, with some Ghanaians calling the findings “foolish and absurd,” while others raised questions about consistency, pointing to past allegations against Mahama’s own family travel expenses during his previous presidency (2012-2017).
The Ghanaian Bar Association (GBA) had already expressed significant concern over the initial suspension of Torkornoo on April 22. According The legal association issued a statement calling for strict adherence to the rule of law under Article 146(6) to (10) of the 1992 Constitution, and that it must align with judicial integrity.
On April 30, Victor Adawudu, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Legal Team, criticised the GBA’s call for Mahama to revoke the suspension, labelling it “biased and wrong” and accusing the association of overstepping its authority
In spite of these debates, the legal basis for Torkornoo’s dismissal draws parallels to international standards like the U.S. code (18 U.S.C. § 648), which prohibits the conversion of public funds by custodians. The decision has sparked wider discussions on transparency and accountability within the country’s institutions.
