Dr. Kwaku Ansah Asah, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law, has blamed former President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo for the recent petitions seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo.
According to Dr. Ansah Asah, the petitions are a direct result of how President Akufo-Addo handled a previous petition against the Chief Justice.
The presidency recently disclosed that it had received three separate petitions calling for the Chief Justice’s removal, which President Mahama forwarded to the Council of State for review and advice.
However, the petitions have sparked backlash, including a lawsuit filed by Ghanaian citizen Ebenezer Osei-Owusu, seeking to stop President Mahama and the Council of State from proceeding with the removal process.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Dr. Ansah Asah argued that if Akufo-Addo had followed due process, the current situation could have been avoided.
He stated that the former president should have left the petition in the hands of the incoming president instead of acting on it.
Dr. Ansah Asare stated, “…December last year [2024], I would have wished that the former president hadn’t acted upon it [Chief Justice’s petition] at all and had left it in the capable hands of the incoming president, but that didn’t happen… If the former president acted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, whatever the outcome is binding, and the current Council of State will have to advise the president that it is a no-go area.”
“However, if the president did not do that, nothing prevents the current president from reopening the matter. I am all for that because the moment we were informed that the former president had made the final determination on that petition, I said it was going to generate another ugly problem, and that is what we are facing now.”
The Council of State is currently reviewing the petitions, and their recommendations will determine the next steps in the process.
Source: Ghana/StarrFM103.5FM/Hamdiya Mohammed
