Ghana opposition Members of Parliament have kicked against President John Mahama’s sacking of the country’s Chief Justice.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo was suspended Wednesday making it the first time in Ghana a Chief Justice would be pushed out by a sitting President. The MPs accused Mahama of an agenda to pack the courts with judges loyal to the ruling party. But Mahama’s supporters said the move as a long overdue move to clean up the judiciary.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo was removed after three different petitions were filed against her, but content of the petitions has not been made public neither has Ms Torkornoo made any comment on the matter.
“It’s 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.
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. With BBC reports
