The suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, continues to face intensifying backlash following her recent public address, with National Democratic Congress (NDC) communicator, Hamza Suhuyini, describing her actions as a direct affront to the Constitution of Ghana and urging for her immediate removal.
Suhuyini stated unequivocally that the Chief Justice’s conduct was in violation of her oath and the principles of constitutional democracy.
He condemned the press conference she held, asserting that her actions were not only disrespectful to the office of the President but also “sacrilegious” in relation to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
“That act was simply a defiant posture intended not only to disrespect the sanctity of the presidency but to a very large extent intended to undermine our constitutional provisions.
“These are constitutional provisions she swore an oath as a judge and secondly as Chief Justice to uphold and defend”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
Beyond what he deemed an unfortunate breaking of the constitution, Suhuyini described the whole affair as a further blot on the suspended Chief Justice’s case and the country’s judiciary.
Citing Article 146(8) of the Constitution, he argued that the suspended Chief Justice’s insistence on public hearings violated the confidentiality clause enshrined in the procedure for removing a sitting Chief Justice.
He reminded the public that the Constitution mandates such proceedings be conducted in camera. “We are dealing with a Chief Justice who ought – and I’m using the word ‘ought’ – to understand the import of Article 146(8),” he said.
According to him, the suspended Chief Justice failed in her duty to honour this constitutional requirement and instead attempted to publicly challenge it, adding that the recent press conference was only the latest development in a series of desperate efforts to set aside the constitution of the land.
Defying Authority
The suspended Chief Justice had earlier taken the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking permission for a public hearing. The court, presided over by her own colleagues, dismissed the request on grounds of legal precedent and constitutional propriety.
Suhuyini criticized her response to the court’s judgment, describing it as a “spit” on the ruling, and claiming it amounted to a second layer of defiance.
Suhuyini insisted that Torkornoo’s actions demonstrated a comprehensive unwillingness to respect key democratic institutions, established authorities, constitutional provisions, judgement of her colleagues, and to a very large extent presidential directives anchored on state principles.
To Suhuyini, the repeated breaches are enough to warrant her removal from office, irrespective of whatever original misconduct that established the prima facie case against her in the first place. He viewed her unconstitutional responses thus far as proof that the suspended Chief Justice was most likely guilty of the main petitions against her too.
“For many who were in doubt as to whether or not her conduct amounted to stated misbehavior as enshrined in our constitution based on which a Chief Justice could be taken out of office, I think that that doubt was put to rest yesterday”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
The Member of Parliament concluded by rallying citizens to stand in defense of the Constitution, which he described as the foundation of Ghana’s democracy.
“If truly we are concerned about the justice delivery system of our country and respect for our 1992 Constitution, then we all must not mince words in condemning what the suspended Chief Justice did yesterday”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
He stressed that the judiciary must remain a pillar of integrity, bound by the very laws it interprets and enforces. To him, the actions of the suspended Chief Justice violated not just legal norms, but the moral trust vested in the office.
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