Caution needed in handling petition against Chief Justice — Prof Baffour Agyeman-Duah advises

Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a governance advisor and co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has urged caution in handling the petitions asking that the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, be removed from office.

To him, how the process is conducted could affect public trust in the country’s democratic institutions.

Speaking on during Joy News's Newsfile programme on Saturday, [April 26, 2025], Professor Agyeman-Duah said although there has been no suggestion of constitutional breaches with the process, Ghana should be guided by lessons from past experiences, particularly the removal of former Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei.

Reflecting on earlier events, Prof Agyeman-Duah noted that it was important for the Executive to avoid actions that could give the impression of interfering with the independence of the judiciary.

He observed that the principle of separation of powers among the legislature, executive, and judiciary is fundamental to democracy and must be protected at all times.

“In governance, we have three important legs: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary,” he stated.

“For the sake of accountability, we go by this theory of separation of powers, which we try to actualise in governance. If that notion is breached needlessly, it creates a crisis for governance. Not only that, as a fledgling democracy, it sends the wrong signals to ourselves as aspiring democrats and to the world out there.”