President John Dramani Mahama has expressed his gratitude to the Council of State for fulfilling its responsibilities in what he called the “difficult issue” of handling petitions seeking the possible removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo.
Speaking at the Jubilee House on Monday, July 7, 2025, the President acknowledged the sensitivity surrounding the matter and praised the Council for its involvement in the early stages, which led to the formation of a special investigative committee.
“On the issue of governance, we’ve had the difficult issue with regards to the suspension of the Chief Justice and of course, the Council of State was involved in a part of that process,” the President stated.
According to President Mahama, the executive arm of government has fulfilled its constitutional obligations and now awaits the findings of the committee tasked with probing the three petitions submitted against the Chief Justice.
“We’ve done our part. The rest is left with the committee that was set up to come out with whatever its findings are, and based on that, whatever the consequential issues are, will be dealt with,” he stated.
In line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, Chief Justice Torkornoo was suspended by the President after receiving the petitions calling for her removal. The independent committee was subsequently formed to investigate the claims and recommend further action where necessary.
The President’s comments come at a time of heightened public debate and concern, as various stakeholders — including the Ghana Bar Association and civil society organisations — weigh in on the broader implications of the Chief Justice’s suspension for judicial independence and the rule of law.
Meanwhile, Gertrude Torkornoo has filed an action at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of proceedings initiated for her removal from office by Mahama.
According to the facts laid out in her statement of case, the Chief Justice was first made aware of the removal petitions not through formal notification but via a presidential press release issued on March 25, 2025, and disseminated widely by the media.
The press statement disclosed that the President had received three petitions seeking her removal and had commenced consultations with the Council of State under Article 146 of the Constitution.
The Chief Justice contends that she was neither notified of the petitions nor given an opportunity to respond prior to the initiation of such grave constitutional steps.
She formally requested copies of the petitions on March 27, 2025, which were provided two days later. In her responses, she contested their merit on legal and factual grounds.
However, despite a pending suit by Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, who had sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to halt the process, the President went ahead to declare a prima facie case had been established against the Chief Justice on April 22.
That same day, the Chief Justice was formally informed by letter that a five-member investigative committee had been constituted and that she was suspended pending the inquiry.
The Chief Justice has raised serious concerns over the legality and impartiality of the committee’s composition. She pointed out that two members, Justices Gabriel Pwamang and Samuel Adibu-Asiedu, had previously adjudicated on related matters involving the petitioners or the constitutional questions now before the Court—circumstances she says disqualify them due to the constitutional requirement of impartiality.
