The Member of Parliament (MP) for Gushegu, Hon. Alhassan Tampuli, has launched a scathing critique of the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo from office by President John Dramani Mahama, describing the process as unfair and politically motivated.
Justice Torkornoo was removed on Monday, September 1, 2025, in line with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution. A statement from the Presidency explained that the action followed a recommendation by a committee established under Article 146(6) to investigate three petitions submitted against her.
The removal took immediate effect upon the investigation of the committee into the petition submitted by a citizen, Mr. Daniel Ofori, drawing divided reactions across the political landscape.
Hon. Tampuli did not hold back in his assessment of the decision, insisting that the inclusion of the Chief Justice’s spouse’s foreign travels and per diem claims as part of the grounds for dismissal was “highly ridiculous.”
“The fact that a Chief Justice’s spouse travelled with her and earned a per diem has now been added to what constitutes stated misbehaviour. Seriously?”
Hon. Alhassan Tampuli, MP for Gushegu
“If you pay for the spouse of the Chief Justice – to travel on vacation, what is wrong with it?” He argued, insisting that Ghana’s highest state officials, including the President, Vice President, Speaker of Parliament, and Chief Justice, all bore the burden of national leadership and therefore deserved such privileges.
Beyond dismissing the per diem grounds, Hon. Tampuli accused the committee of acting arbitrarily in a process that appeared predetermined.
According to him, the way in which the inquiry was conducted undermined judicial independence and signaled political interference in the judiciary. “They had been asked to in an oppressive and, in an unjust manner, remove the Chief Justice. And that is a very dangerous precedent,” he warned.
“In law school, they said that in some instances, some of the judges will determine cases before they hear, and this appears to be one of those things,” Hon. Tampuli added, suggesting that the case demonstrated how political calculations could overrule fairness in judicial matters.
He insisted that the stage for Torkornoo’s removal had been set long before the committee’s decision.
Expected Removal
Beyond his concerns about the grounds of removal, Hon. Tampuli stated that the dismissal of the Chief Justice was far from surprising, adding that the process was long anticipated by many Ghanaians.
He argued that political pronouncements leading up to and following the 2024 general elections had already created the expectation that Justice Torkornoo’s tenure would be targeted. “No Ghanaian will be surprised about the outcome of the committee’s hearings – looking at the way it started,” Tampuli remarked.
He recalled what he termed “thinly veiled threats” made against the judiciary during the transition period, pointing specifically to rhetoric about an overhaul in governance structures and claims from government actors regarding the need to “purge the judiciary.”
“It started in the run-up to the elections – talk about reset, and the attempts to find a way to restructure the judiciary,” he explained, pointing to remarks by the current Minister for Communications, Hon. Samuel Nartey George as evidence of the intent that shaped the outcome.
“So it wasn’t really a surprise when we heard that there were petitions against the CJ,” he added.
Government Defends Removal
While Hon. Tampuli condemned the process as politically motivated, government officials defended the legality of the action.
The Minister for Government Communications, Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, dismissed accusations of arbitrariness, stressing that President Mahama had only acted within the remit of the Constitution.
“The role of the President is clearly defined under Article 146, and since March this year, the President has strictly adhered to the constitutional tenets and has done everything in consonance with constitutional provision”
“So it must be emphasised that we have arrived at this juncture because of what the Constitution says and not necessarily what the President believes”
Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister for Government Communications
The dismissal of Chief Justice Torkornoo has sparked debate between critics who see it as politically motivated and government figures who insist the decision was grounded in constitutional process.
With the development setting the stage for legal and political contestation, Hon. Tampuli’s comments underscore the sharp divisions over how state institutions should be safeguarded in Ghana’s democracy.
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