Gavel on Trial: Reflecting on petitions to remove CJs in Ghana – Richmond Ampofo Fordjour writes

It is revealing that every Chief Justice who served from the Mills’ era to President Akufo-Addo has been a target of an impeachment petition, with Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood being the subject of most. 

Ghana’s justice system has been a democratic crucible, shaping the rule of law, whose cardinal tenet, equality, has tried some chief justices, in the Fourth Republic.

 President Akufo-Addo dismissing Kweku Azar’s petition a day before leaving office, was the latest of a chronicle of petitions to remove Chief Justices.

Article 146 of the 1992 constitution allows for the removal of Justices of the Superior Courts, including the Chief Justice. Clause six (6) to ten (10) outlines that a petition shall first be presented to the President, who, in consultation with the Council of State, determine if there is a prima facie case. If any, a five-member committee is constituted to look into the matter and shall come out with recommendations upon which the president is bound to act. 

Here is a chronicle of Chief Justices who faced impeachment petitions:

Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo 
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, presented a petition to the president on 17th December, 2024, to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkonoo. The grounds were, stated misbehavior and incompetence, which captured the Chief Justice’s request for the appointment of five justices to the Supreme Court and alleged arbitrary reconstitution of panels and transfer of judges violating Article 144(2) of the Constitution.  The president responded that the petitioner failed to substantiate his claims with evidence. Secondly, the practices cited were consistent with law, and the publication of the petition violated Article 146 (8) hence the petition failed to disclose a prima facie case and was thrown out. 

Chief Justice Kwesi Anin Yeboah  
ASEPA (Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability) petitioned President Akufo Addo to remove  Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah over allegations of a $5 million bribe by lawyer Akwasi Afrifa for judgment to be delivered in favor of his client, Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta IV.  ASEPA petitioned CHRAJ on July 12, 2021 and  they submitted the same petition to the President for the Chief Justice’s removal the next day. The President dismissed it on August 24, 2021 as unwarranted and unmeritorious, stating it relied on hearsay without concrete evidence. 

Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo

Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of the ASEPA petitioned President Akufo-Addo to remove Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo on grounds of: Alleged incompetence and Misconduct. This was due to the Supreme Court’s rejection of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ order in 2017 to halt the seizure of businessman Alfred Woyome’s properties and allowing proceedings for the repayment of Woyome’s debt, which Mensah Thompson argues contravened Ghana’s international treaty obligations under Articles 40, 73, and 75 of the 1992 Constitution and the Vienna Convention.  He filed the petition on 12 November 2018, but the president never responded to it until he left office.

Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood

She remains the subject of most petitions for removal. Among the 15 justices who have acceded to the highest office in the judiciary and she suffered a barrage of impeachment petitions A record of about five petitions were submitted to initiate her impeachment, three of which came during the Mills administration: 

1. On 10th February, 2017, one Ernest Obiri Lartey, a driver, petitioned President Akufo-Addo to remove Chief Justice Georgina Wood on the basis of stated misbehavior and incompetence:  A. For publishing contentpetitionn by Tiger Eye PI to her over alleged bribery  in the media prior to the response of the embattled thirty-four (34) judges and magistrates.  b. Ex parte communication: The Chief Justice allegedly had a 2-hour discussion with Tiger Eye PI before they officially submitted the petition. This violates the Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates of Ghana (CCJMG), specifically Rule 3(7) and 4(a). 
2. Rev. Kwarteng Amaning, Executive Secretary of the Gospel Evangelical Crusaders and Providence Foundation, petitioned President Mills on 3rd September, 2010, over allegations of the Chief Justice’s partisanship in favor of the NPP and exhibiting unprofessionalism as the head of the bench during the 2008 election run-off. This came on the back of the her ordering a Fast Track Court to hear a lawsuit filed by the NPP on January 1, a public holiday, deemed as reserved for the president.
3. Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Francis Y. Kpegah, petitioned President Mahama in 2013 to remove Chief Justice Georgina Wood over claims of abusing her discretionary powers in transferring and promoting judges. He also filed same in 2010 to President Mills. 
4. A group called Citizens of La Home and Abroad petitioned President Mills in 2009 to remove Chief Justice Georgina Wood over unsatisfactory handling of requests by the Ga-Dangme groups to return their lands acquired by the government. Tensions had heightened over the CJ acquiring state land, which eventually led her to give up interest in it.

In all the instances explained above, all the Chief Justices escaped impeachment. The procedure for removing the nation’s top judge will remain. However, the last two decades have shown that to get these distinguished individuals out of the job, a very high bar must be met. And successive presidents have been willing to keep it high.

Writer’s email: richmondkwesiampofo@gmail.com