My removal process breaks every constitutional rule – Justice Torkonoo

Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has strongly criticised the John Mahama-led government, accusing it of breaching Ghana’s Constitution in every step taken to remove her from office.

“Unfortunately, every step of the removal process that has been undertaken against me has been done in a manner that breaks every rule on how justice is delivered in our country,” she stated at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

This press conference is her first public appearance since her suspension.

“I feel compelled to draw the nation’s attention to this serious violation of our Constitution and laws, and the danger it poses to the development of our democracy,” she added.

Justice Torkornoo was suspended on April 22, 2025, by President John Mahama following three petitions that led to a prima facie determination.

The Council of State gave its consent, and a five-member committee was established under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the claims.

The move, the first of its kind since the adoption of the 1992 Constitution, elevated Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to serve as Acting Chief Justice.

It has since sparked significant political backlash and accusations of judicial interference.

Appointed in June 2023 as Ghana’s third female Chief Justice and a respected voice in the judiciary, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo quickly became a symbol of legal reform and institutional integrity.

Her sudden suspension in April 2025 by the Mahama administration has not only shaken the judicial establishment but also sparked widespread debate over the rule of law.

Now at the centre of a constitutional showdown, she has taken her fight to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn what she describes as an unlawful suspension and to block the inquiry committee tasked with determining her fate.