Deputy Director in charge of operations at the presidency, Mustapha Gbande has accused former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of packing the courts with his favorite judges with the aim of freeing corrupt officials who served in his government when they stand trial.
Gbande says the fight against corruption by the Mahama administration will be difficult if they do not clean the judiciary.
He said this on the midday news with Mawuena Egbeta on 3fm Friday, April 18, while making a case for the removal of the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and the Chair of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa.
He expressed the view that the Chief Justice and the EC Chair are politically exposed persons therefore, they have to be replaced with persons who are not politically tainted.
“We haven’t amended our laws; the same law gave President Akufo-Addo the right to remove Charlotte Osei; they are all independent institutions, but he removed her.
“We have come, not just repeating precedence, but to deal with everyone on a case-by-case basis. The Chief Justice will have to go, the EC chairperson and other politically exposed directors will have to go, and indeed they will go, it is just a matter of time so that we can fill those places with persons who are not politically exposed.”
He added “President Akufo-Addo kept and packed the judiciary so that all the appointees who will be taken to court will escape. You are calling for accountability, but if you don’t clean the judiciary…we are not going anywhere. The current Chief Justice is politically exposed.”
President John Dramani Mahama forwarded three petitions calling for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo to the Council of State for advice, in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
A statement from the Presidency’s Communications Directorate on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, confirmed that the petitions had been submitted by various individuals, urging the President to take action against the Chief Justice.
Following constitutional procedures, President Mahama has referred the matter to the Council of State to begin the consultation process required before any further action can be taken.
The Chief Justice subsequently responded to the petition.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has set May 6 to hear the injunction applications against the petition to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo from office.
The panel of four sitting instead of five, chaired by Justice Osei Bonsu, noted that the adjournment had been occasioned due to “unavoidable reason”.
Justice Samuel Asiedu, the fifth member of the panel, was absent when the case was called on Wednesday, April 16.
At the last adjourned date, former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, representing Old Tafo Member of Parliament as a plaintiff in one of the injunction suits, averred that the president ought to hold on with the consultation processes with the Council of State.
He noted that the law prohibits the continuation of court processes when there’s an injunction application.
“He needs to understand that this is the performance of a constitutional duty and the law is very clear that you cannot enjoin the performance of a constitutional or public obligation,” the A-G noted.
The post Akufo-Addo packed the courts with judges to free corrupt NPP officials, we’ll clean the judiciary – Gbande first appeared on 3News.
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