Overview

• President John Dramani Mahama has suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo under Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution, pending an inquiry into three petitions against her.
• A committee, formed in consultation with the Council of State, has been tasked with investigating the allegations outlined in the petitions.
• MP Ekow Vincent Assafuah has filed a Supreme Court challenge, arguing that the President failed to notify the Chief Justice or seek her response before referring the petitions to the Council of State.
• The case raises significant constitutional questions about due process, judicial independence, and the proper application of removal procedures under the 1992 Constitution.
• This is the first major test of Ghana’s constitutional provisions for the removal of a Chief Justice, as no prior petitions have succeeded since the Constitution’s adoption.