President acted within the law in Chief Justice suspension – Deputy Attorney-General
Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has stated that President John Dramani Mahama’s suspension of the Chief Justice was in accordance with constitutional provisions and not a discretionary political decision.
In an interview with Citi FM on Wednesday [April 23, 2025], Dr Srem-Sai addressed concerns raised by opposition lawmakers from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who have argued that the President should have waited for the Supreme Court to determine the legality of the suspension before taking any action.
“There is no law requiring the President or any public officer to suspend a constitutional function simply because a case has been filed in court,” Dr Srem-Sai said. “The President acted in line with both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.”
The law makers from the NPP side have described the suspension as a “judicial coup”, with some of its members, including Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko, questioning the timing of the action and referring to recent public comments by members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding possible reforms in the judiciary.
Dr Srem-Sai indicated that the suspension followed the procedure outlined in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which sets out the procedure for the removal of Justices, including the Chief Justice..
He added that while certain aspects of the process are conducted in-camera as required by law, the final outcome of the inquiry should be made public.
“The Constitution provides for in-camera proceedings, but the findings at the end of the process must be disclosed,” he said.
The matter has drawn attention to ongoing public discussions about the relationship between the executive and the judiciary in Ghana.
A five-member committee has been established to investigate the petition that led to the suspension.
