CJ Removal: I Want Public Hearing – Torkornoo

Justice Gertrude Torkornoo

 

Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has waived her right to an in-camera hearing of the proceedings of the five-member committee set up by President John Mahama to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in three petitions calling for her removal.

Article 146(8) of the 1992 Constitution which regulates the sitting of the committee dictates that “All proceedings under this article shall be held in camera.”

But Justice Torkornoo appears to disagree with this constitutional provision and holds the view that such a right can be waived.

In a writ filed before the Supreme Court challenging the processes leading to her suspension and the subsequent setting up of the committee, she avers that it is within her right to be given a public hearing in the interest of fair hearing.

Petitions

Three petitions which were filed some time in February 2025, have led to President John Mahama suspending the Chief Justice after the finding of a prima facie case against her by the Council of State.

President Mahama on April 22, 2025, suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo following the setting up of a five-member committee to probe the three petitions calling for her removal from office.

The suspension followed the finding of prima facie by the Council of State following the forwarding of the three petitions by the President.

The committee is chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, a Justice of the Supreme Court and also includes Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo and Prof. James Sefah Dzisah.

The Supreme Court has so far dismissed three separate applications calling for the revocation of the suspension and an order nullifying the steps taken by the President in respect of the petitions as well as the setting up of a five-member committee to probe the petitions.

Justice Torkornoo has also initiated a lawsuit against the President through the Attorney General as well as the members on the committee probing the petition.

Among the reliefs she is seeking include an order restraining Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang (Chairman) and Samuel Adibu-Asiedu (member) from presiding over or participating in proceedings of the committee appointed by the President to inquire into the three petitions.

Public Hearing

A number of individuals have called for a public hearing of the proceedings of the committee probing the petitions, stressing on how it will promote transparency and douse allegations of political witch hunt against the Chief Justice.

Justice Torkornoo appears to agree with this position, as she has decided to waive her right to an in-camera hearing, arguing that she is entitled to a public hearing in the three petitions calling for her removal as the Chief Justice.

She wants a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 17(1) and (2), 19(13) and (14), 23, 146(7) and (8), 281(1) and 295(1) of the Constitution, the right of a Chief Justice to a public hearing and all the incidents of a fair hearing may only be excluded in the interest of public morality, public safety, or public order.

She also wants a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 17(1) and (2), 19(13) and (14), 23, 146(7) and (8), 281(1) and 295(1) of the Constitution, a Chief Justice who is called upon to participate in a hearing conducted by a committee constituted under article 146(6) to inquire into the merits of a petition seeking the removal from office of the Chief Justice can waive the privilege of “in camera proceedings”.

BY Gibril Abdul Razak

The post CJ Removal: I Want Public Hearing – Torkornoo appeared first on DailyGuide Network.

Read Full Story