Opposition MPs in Ghana have fiercely condemned the suspension of the country’s chief justice, accusing President John Mahama of trying to “pack the courts” with justices who are sympathetic to the governing party, the NDC.
Gertrude Torkornoo was removed from her post on Wednesday – the first time a chief justice has been suspended in the country’s history.
The action was taken after three petitions, which made allegations against Ms Torkornoo, were filed.
The content of the petitions has not been made public and Ms Torkornoo is yet to comment openly on the matter.
Mahama’s supporters have backed the move as a long overdue move to clean up the judiciary.
But it was condemned by the opposition as “nothing short of a brazen judicial coup, a reckless abuse of executive power, and a direct assault on the independence of Ghana’s judiciary”, the MPs said in a statement.
On Tuesday, a statement from the presidency said the chief justice was asked to step aside so that the allegations against her could be investigated.
Since the suspension was announced, two more petitions have been filed against Ms Torkornoo.
Former attorney general Godfred Yeboah Dame told the BBC he thought the suspension was a “complete charade… the biggest assault on the [judiciary] in the nation’s history”.
Before Ms Torkornoo was suspended, lawyers filed at least two lawsuits challenging the legality of the procedure being used by the president.
By law the president should have given copies of the petition to the chief justice before suspending her, which he initially failed to do. However, he did later make them available to her.
The caucus of opposition MPs says that by suspending the chief justice before the Supreme Court had ruled on these lawsuits, Mahama had “violated” due process.
But some Ghanaians support the president’s move.
Dr Tony Aidoo, Ghana’s former ambassador to the Netherlands, told radio station Joy News: “I think the president is protecting the judiciary in Ghana from the actions of a person who does not behave in a manner that should keep her there… if there’s a stench in the room you have to let in fresh air.”
Some accuse the Supreme Court under Ms Torkornoo of siding with former President Nana Akufo-Addo and his party on several high-profile political cases.
For example, last year, the justices ruled that the speaker’s decision to declare four MP’s seats vacant was unconstitutional.
Ghana has had 15 chief justices, whose job involves overseeing the administration of justice in the country.
Those that came before Ms Torkornoo ended their term by retiring – none have been suspended or permanently removed.
Chief justices can only be removed from office on a few grounds, such as incompetence or misbehaviour.
Ms Torkornoo is Ghana’s third female chief justice and was nominated in 2023 by Akufo-Addo.
According to Reuters news agency, Ms Torkornoo survived a removal request earlier this year when Akufo-Addo said a petition to have her dismissed had “several deficiencies”.
A five-member committee has now been set up to investigate the current allegations against Ms Torkornoo.
