16/08/2025
Dr. Ayine dismissed allegations of executive meddling in the three petitions against the Chief Justice and underlined that the suspension absolutely complies with the 1992 Constitution's requirements.
His remarks come after the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Bar Council of England and Wales jointly released a statement on August 14 pleading with President Mahama to reinstall Justice Torkornoo right now. Ghana has a long history of respecting the rule of law, according to the statement.
The Chief Justice's suspension on April 22, 2025, caused anxiety for both legal organizations. Following the establishment of a prima facie case of impropriety or misbehavior, Dr. Ayine said that the suspension of a Chief Justice is not prohibited by the Constitution or the Latimer House Principles.
He underlined the government's commitment to the rule of law, judicial independence, and the separation of powers, warning that any suggestions to the contrary were baseless and ran the risk of distorting the fair, open, and law-abiding nature of a constitutional process.
On April 22, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office after a prima facie case was established based on three undisclosed petitions alleging misconduct and incompetence. He stated that the suspension would remain in effect until the inquiry committee finished its work and submitted its report, to which His Excellency, the President, would adhere.
According to Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the president may suspend a justice of the Supreme Court and designate a committee to conduct an investigation after consulting the Council of State. That is precisely what President Mahama did when he established a five-member inquiry panel led by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang. Justice Samuel Adibu-Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah-Dzisah were among the other members.
During the investigation, the most senior Supreme Court justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, was named interim Chief Justice.
Ghana's legal community was rocked by the suspension. The president did not publish any Constitutional Instrument or rules to support the use of discretionary power, as required by Article 296 of the Constitution, according to the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), which denounced the conduct as unlawful.
The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) also condemned the ruling, saying it violated judicial independence and constitutional standards. Citing the politically biased and opaque makeup of the committee, CDM contested the inquiry's neutrality and undermined due process. In her public defense, Chief Justice Torkornoo called the suspension and removal procedures "arbitrary," "cruel," and illegal. She has made it clear that resigning would mean giving up her right to self-defense and surrendering to an unsatisfactory procedure.
These worries were shared by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which denounced the suspension as unconstitutional and warned that it endangered Ghana's democratic integrity.
