Halt suspension of CJ - Old Tafo MP tells Supreme Court
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has filed a new application asking the Supreme Court to halt the suspension of the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, by President John Dramani Mahama.
The application for interlocutory injunction filed yesterday is also seeking an order from the apex court to put on hold any action that could lead to the potential impeachment of Justice Torkornoo until the final determination of his writ challenging the constitutionality of the manner in which the President had handled the intended impeachment process.
By the above relief, the MP wants the Supreme Court to halt the work of the five-member committee established by President Mahama to investigate the three petitions seeking the impeachment of Justice Torkornoo.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic twist, the acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has directed all registrars of the courts to refer every new case to his office for assignment.
It was contained in a memo issued by the Deputy Judicial Secretary last wednesday.
This is the second application for interlocutory injunction filed by the MP after invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to declare the impeachment process unconstitutional on March 27 this year.
The first application for interlocutory injunction filed on the same day the substantive writ was filed was seeking to restrain President Mahama from consulting with the Council of State on whether or not the three petitions establish a prima facie case.
That application is expected to be heard by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court on May 6 this year.
Mr Assafuah is of the contention that President Mahama violated Article 146 of the Constitution and other provisions pertaining to fair hearing by failing to first notify the Chief Justice and obtain her response before initiating the consultation process with the Council of State.
Basis for new application
With his new application filed by his lawyer, Godfred Yeboah Dame, a former Attorney-General (A-G), the MP described the suspension of the Chief Justice, as well as the establishment of a committee to investigate the petitions, as “a complete disregard for rule of law and due process”.
According to Mr Assafuah, his first application for interlocutory injunction had been duly served on the A-G, and was yet to be determined by the Supreme Court, but the President went ahead to do the very thing the application sought to prevent.
“That in a move indicative of complete disregard for the rule of law and due process, whilst the application for interlocutory injunction was pending and had not been heard or determined, on April 22, 2025, the President released a press statement stating that a prima facie case has been established in respect of the three petitions against the Chief Justice.
“The said press release also informed the public of the establishment of a five-member committee to inquire into the petitions and further announced the suspension of the Chief Justice pending the outcome of the committee’s proceedings,” the MP said in his affidavit in support of the application.
Again, the applicant reiterated his main point for the initial application and the substantive suit that the President failed to notify the Chief Justice of the petitions before initiating the consultation process with the Council of State.
He averred that the records showed that the President received the first two petitions in February, but failed to notify the Chief Justice even after announcing the consultation with the Council of State on March 25 this year.
“That the refusal of the President to notify the Chief Justice about receipt of the three petitions against her for over six weeks after receiving the first two petitions until the instant suit was filed (whilst purportedly engaging in consultations with the Council of State under Article 146) portrays the Government's deliberate scheme to violate the rights of the Chief Justice in order to unlawfully remove her from office,” the affidavit in support added.
The MP, therefore, described the impeachment process as “tainted”, adding that irreparable damage would be created if the suspension of the Chief Justice and the entire impeachment process were not halted, and the whole process declared unconstitutional in the substantive suit.
“That should the impugned processes under Article 146 be allowed to proceed and concluded before the instant action is heard, same will undermine the rule of law, the Constitution and the power of the Judiciary in discharging its constitutional duty of determining disputes between all persons in Ghana once its jurisdiction is properly invoked,” the affidavit in support of the application stated.
FIDA concern
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Ghana has called for transparency regarding the process and urgent resolution of the matters before the committee to enable the Chief Justice to resume her constitutional duties to the Judiciary and the country.
It also recommended urgent constitutional and legal reforms to provide stronger protection for office holders, especially heads of independent constitutional bodies, to prevent arbitrary dismissals.
A statement issued by the acting Executive Director of the federation, Susan Aryeetey, and dated April 24, 2025, expressed concern over the recent suspension of the Chief Justice.
The action, it said, had far-reaching implications for the independence of the Judiciary, the protection of constitutional governance, and the ongoing commitment for gender parity in national leadership.
Background
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, Spokesperson to the President and Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, announced that President Mahama had suspended Justice Torkornoo.
The suspension of the Chief Justice under Article 146 (10) of the Constitution followed the determination of the prima facie case by the President, in consultation with the Council of State, and the subsequent establishment of a five-member committee to inquire into the petitions in accordance with Article 146 (6) of the 1992 Constitution.
The committee established by President Mahama to probe the petitions will be chaired by a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang.
Other members of the committee are Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, a Justice of the Supreme Court; Daniel Yaw Domelevo, a former Auditor-General; Major Flora Bazwaanura of the Ghana Armed Forces, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah of the University of Ghana.
Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh
