CJ’s case: Judges on committee may be called as witnesses – Former Deputy A-G Tuah-Yeboah

A former deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has supported Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s decision to challenge the composition of the committee inquiring into the petitions asking that she should be removed from office.

He described her request for certain judges to recuse themselves as both legally and ethically justified.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme on Saturday [May 25, 2025], Mr Tuah Yeboah explained that if a committee member was involved in decisions cited as grounds for the Chief Justice’s removal, it would be reasonable for her to raise objections based on fairness and potential bias.

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He added that in such cases, the Chief Justice might need to call those judges as witnesses in her defence. This, he said, would create a clear conflict of interest if they remained on the committee adjudicating her case.

“Whatever the CJ says, that she may want to call Justice X as her witness in that matter, what happens?” Mr Tuah Yeboah asked. “She tells you, ‘Yes, this person is my witness in that case.’ So when you consider the optics and the circumstances, the CJ had no option but to go to court.”

The Chief Justice last week filed an application at the Supreme Court to challenge the participation of some judges in the disciplinary proceedings against her.

The suit follows concerns that some committee members had previously sat on cases now cited as justification for her removal.

Mr Tuah Yeboah said the Chief Justice is within her constitutional rights to seek clarity or redress from the courts.

“If you go to the chief’s palace and there is a matter before the chief, and the chief has empaneled other chiefs, you have a right to raise an objection to any of them sitting on your matter,” he said.

”Similarly, in this case, the CJ is saying some judges took part in decisions forming the basis for her removal. That makes her concerns legitimate.”

The former Deputy Attorney-General also cautioned against viewing the Chief Justice’s legal strategy as an attempt to delay the process, as some critics suggest. Instead, he said it reflects an effort to uphold due process and protect the integrity of the proceedings.

“The CJ, as a citizen, has the right under the Constitution to vindicate any concerns by going to court,” he added. “She has every right to challenge each step along the way.”

Mr Tuah Yeboah said such legal channels must be preserved and respected, especially when the matter involves the head of the judiciary.