In recent weeks, Ghanaians have been split in focus over the suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo.
This development follows President Mahama’s decision to act under Article 146(6) of the Constitution, which mandates that when a petition is filed for the removal of the Chief Justice, the President—after consulting with the Council of State and establishing a prima facie case—must establish a committee.
This committee is to be composed of two Justices of the Supreme Court, one of whom the President appoints as chair, along with three other individuals who are neither members of Parliament, the Council of State, nor practicing lawyers.
According to Clause (7) of the same article, the committee is tasked with reviewing the petition and making a recommendation to the President on whether the Chief Justice should be removed from office. It is against this constitutional backdrop that the President has constituted a committee to assess allegations of misconduct brought against Justice Torkornoo.
In the midst of this process, the Chairperson of the People’s National Party (PNP), Janet Nabila, has publicly criticized the government’s actions.
She characterized the situation as a “political witch-hunt” and claimed it serves to “smear” women’s representation in leadership and governance.
Speaking in an interview with the Vaultz News, Ms. Nabila dismissed the allegations against the suspended Chief Justice as baseless. She argued that the accusations lacked sufficient merit to even justify the formation of a committee to investigate the matter.
Ms. Nabila further asserted that the entire ordeal appears to be influenced by gender bias. In her view, if the Chief Justice were a man, the circumstances and public reaction might have been entirely different.
She suggested that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its allies are behind what she perceives as an unjust targeting of Justice Torkornoo, purely because she is a woman.
“What the President is doing is trying to disrespect the women of this country, trying to deter females from aspiring for higher offices, and trying to just look down on women because they think women are vulnerable in society; that is what he is doing. The President has violated the constitution of Ghana when it comes to women’s representation on several occasions, and we have pointed out to him that this is what he did.
“Parliament of Ghana used Article 17(4) of Ghana’s constitution pass an affirmative action bill and the law was supposed to give 40% representation to women but President Mahama – so this one is not like if I want I do it, if I don’t want, I will not do it. That is not what it says, you are supposed to do it because it is a law”.
Janet Nabila
Women’s Rights Abused Under Mahama Rule
Furthermore, Madam Janet Nabila stated that the current attempt to oust the Chief Justice is just another example in a pattern of disregard for women by President Mahama.
She criticized him for consistently falling short of the 30% benchmark for women’s representation across various sectors of government since taking office—something she believes he should have been more mindful of and approached with greater sensitivity.
“I have been telling people that President Mahama is a lawbreaker. He doesn’t value the laws of Ghana. And I think he is having the impudence to do what he is doing because he thinks that he has a majority in parliament. So, because he has a majority in parliament, when we use article 69, which calls for his removal when he disrespects the constitution, no matter how he will pass through it.”
Janet Nabila
She further lamented that the country’s democracy has steadily deteriorated since President John Dramani Mahama assumed office in recent years, describing the situation as deeply disheartening for the People’s National Party (PNP) to witness.
“Look at what they said the woman committed, that she took money and then took the family on holiday. Meanwhile, when you look at the rules in the court, they gave an opportunity to the Chief Justice to pick the family and the amount they gave, but she couldn’t spend all. So, what is paining them is why are you a woman? We know that President Mahama doesn’t like women, that is why he refuses to appoint them in his government”.
Janet Nabila
Nabila also emphasized that the procedures undertaken by the President violated legal protocols. She claimed that the President has a history of disregarding the law, making his actions unsurprising to the People’s National Party (PNP).
As a result, the PNP has declared its firm opposition to the removal of the Chief Justice and is calling on the President to reverse his decision and reinstate the suspended CJ.
In the meantime, the PNP is warning of an impending wave of unprecedented demonstrations across the country if the President fails to heed their demand.
According to Nabila, these protests will focus on raising awareness among Ghanaians about what the party sees as a targeted campaign by H.E. John Dramani Mahama against women in leadership.
She stated that once the dust settles, women within the NDC and across the country will come to recognize the President’s true intentions through his actions.
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