A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communication Team, Hamza Suhuyini, has stated that the public address by the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, justifies her removal, saying that it’s evidence she is unfit to occupy the high office.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey on Friday, June 27, Mr. Suhuyini argued that Justice Torkornoo’s actions were not only unlawful but also undermined the very committee set up to investigate the allegations against her.
He questioned why the suspended Chief Justice would publicly discuss the contents of the petition against her while the constitutionally mandated investigative process is still ongoing.
According to him, such conduct erodes the dignity of the judiciary and exposes her unfitness for the role.
“The people of this country pay to ensure that she benefits from those privileges. So the least she can do is to uphold and respect our laws. And for me she betrayed that principle and justifies the reason why she should be taken out of office. It’s a justification because that is clear example of stated misbehaviour,” he asserted.
Mr. Suhuyini further recalled that Justice Torkornoo herself had earlier petitioned the Supreme Court to allow her impeachment proceedings to be conducted publicly, a request the Court unanimously rejected.
“These are the very arguments you took to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana arguing that you needed the proceedings to be made public. Your colleagues, many years you sat on cases with them, looked into your face, none of them were appointed by President Mahama to the Supreme Court, you were there with them. They sat, looked at your application and concluded that it had no merit and threw you out and directed that the proceedings should still be held in camera,” he explained.
“So Madam Torkornoo did not only succeed in spitting on the faces of her colleagues on the Supreme Court bench but equally succeeded in undermining the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. So her conduct from day one has been one that justifies the need for her to be found and fit to occupy that office,” Mr. Suhuyini added.
Justice Torkornoo, who is facing impeachment proceedings under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, held a press conference on Wednesday, June 25, where she described the process as unconstitutional, irregular, and politically motivated.
She also raised concerns over the choice of venue for the proceedings—Adu Lodge, a state facility along Castle Drive in Osu—describing it as symbolically troubling, given its association with the 1981 abduction and murder of three High Court judges and a military officer, one of whom was her uncle.
The suspended Chief Justice insists that stepping down would wrongly imply an admission of guilt and embolden political actors seeking to manipulate the situation.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
