Lawyer and politician Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer has described the ongoing petition against Ghana’s Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as a contrived and politically motivated plot intended to oust her from office under false pretenses.
According to him, the sole reliance on a clause governing private travel arrangements in the judiciary’s internal policy document reflects a predetermined effort to target and remove the Chief Justice, rather than a genuine concern for misconduct.
“The law allows the Chief Justice to travel with her spouse, whether on official or private trips”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
Mercer contends that the petitioners’ interpretation of the travel policy is not only “misleading” but legally insufficient to form a basis for such serious proceedings. He said the attacks ignore the wider context of the judicial framework and the privileges afforded to superior court judges under Ghana’s Constitution.
Speaking on the matter, Mercer criticised the piecemeal interpretation of the judiciary’s travel policy.
He insisted that legal documents must be read in full to capture their “original intent” and not cherry-picked for convenience. He expressed disbelief that an administrative provision could be weaponized for political ends.
“‘Foreign travel by heads of judiciary and super superior court judges’ – the policy is here, the entire document. Remember that as lawyers, we are trained to read documents as a whole”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
He further explained that Article 71 of the Constitution guarantees certain benefits to superior court judges that are on par with those of the President and Speaker of Parliament.
These include entitlements during travel, and according to Mercer, those entitlements clearly extend to the Chief Justice’s spouse, even on private trips.
Policy Misapplied
Mercer called into question the logic behind the petition’s foundation, referencing a specific clause in the judiciary’s policy which states that private foreign travel should be accompanied by a security officer.
“So are they suggesting to me that… where the Chief Justice embarks on a personal or private foreign travel, she shall be accompanied by the security alone – means that the Chief Justice can only travel with the security?”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
He contrasted this with the entitlements under official duty, where the Chief Justice can be accompanied by her aide-de-camp, personal assistant, security, spouse, and even another individual.
Yet, he lamented, critics have chosen to focus solely on the limitations applied to private travel without acknowledging the clear flexibility in the broader text. He clarified that their skewed interpretation does not change what’s true, it does not preclude the Chief Justice’s spouse from travelling alongside her.
Mercer speculated that the rumored recusal of former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo from the Council of State decision regarding the matter could indicate internal dissent against the petition.
While unconfirmed, he encouraged her to speak publicly, citing her principled stance in past political and economic matters.
“In fact, she was part of the people who demonstrated against the president who nominated her to the office of chief justice because she believed that the domestic debt exchange program which had impacted pensioner bond holders was wrong”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
Should it be confirmed that she recused herself on principle, Mercer believes it would lend further credence to arguments that the process against Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo is tainted by political motives.
A Lacking Petition
Mercer criticised the lack of evidence and direct injury to the petitioners in the case. He argued that none of the remaining complaints hold personal relevance to those bringing the petitions and are instead centred on a narrow, administrative detail.
“This is the only issue that they are hinging the entirety of these three petitions, and the responses on, to arrive at a prima facie decision”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
He described his initial openness to the process as misplaced and suggested that others who doubted the sincerity of the exercise might have been right all along. Mercer concluded that the motive behind the petitions is now unmistakably clear.
“It is nothing but an orchestrated, predetermined process to remove the Chief Justice on account of all the things that they (NDC) said whilst in opposition”
Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Lawyer and Politician
