Akufo-Addo dismisses Prof. Kwaku Asare’s petition for removal of Chief Justice

President Akufo-Addo has dismissed a petition by a lawyer, Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare for the removal Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.

In responding to the petition on behalf of the President in a letter dated January 3, 2025, the Legal Counsel to the President, Kow Essuman described the petition as “unmeritorious and unwarranted”.

The President further explained that the petition lacked prima facie evidence to constitute the removal of the Chief Justice.

“On the strength of all of the above, I find that no prima facie case is disclosed by the instant petition for the removal of the Chief Justice. The petition is devoid of any basis warranting the setting up of a committee under article 146 (6)…The petition is dismissed accordingly,” Akufo-Addo noted.

The letter stated that the Council of State after perusing the petition by Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare concluded that “the Petitioner did not seem to have a clear understanding of the laws and rules governing the administration of justice and the peculiar role and powers given to the Chief Justice for the proper administration of the judicial service.”

The Council believed that the petition does not disclose any facts of wrongdoing and, therefore, no prima facie case had been made upon which the Council could make a recommendation for an investigation to be conducted.

The Council strongly advised for the dismissal of the petition as it is “frivolous” and “vexatious”.

On the allegations of the Chief Justice’s interference in the transfer of judges, President Akufo-Addo noted that the petitioner’s assertions were mere conjectures with no evidence

“The Petitioner fails to submit any evidence to support this allegation. He also fails to demonstrate the source of these “reported incidence”. Who reported them? Where were they reported? These alleged reported incidences cannot even be treated as hearsay evidence. At best, they are conjecture and speculation, which have no place in a petition to remove a Chief Justice from office,” the letter added.

Read full letter from the Office of the President below

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Background

On December 17 2024, Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare, a citizen of Ghana, petitioned President Akufo-Addo for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo for alleged misbehaviour and incompetence.

The petitioner, in a letter dated December 17, noted that “The legal basis of my petition is Article 146 (1) of the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana [the constitution]. For the avoidance of doubt, my petition focuses on stated misbehaviour and incompetence related to the Chief Justice’s administrative functions as head of the judiciary responsible for its supervision and administration under article 125 (4) of the constitution.”

“I, therefore, petition the President to initiate proceedings to remove the CJ from office to uphold the Constitution, maintain the integrity of the Judiciary and restore public confidence in our judicial system,” the petitioner said.

The petitioner alleged that the Chief Justice’s request for the appointment of some five judges to the Supreme Court was done in brazen violation of the constitutional rules for the appointment of Justices of the Supreme Court, amounted to an abuse of her office, and was done without fair and/or reasonable criteria.

Specifically, the petitioner is of the opinion that the Chief Justice’s letter requesting the appointment of the judges was in oblivion to the constitutional provision of Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution which provides for the appointment of Justices of the Supreme Court.

“The Chief Justice’s direct request to Your Excellency completely undermines the role of the Judicial Council in respect of which she is head, and defeats the consultative and the collaborative requirements of Article 144(2) of the Constitution”.

He said it was because “it essentially bypasses the Judicial Council’s advice and the constitutionally mandated process, thereby compromising the constitutional framework designed to prevent undue influence and maintain judicial impartiality”.

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