Elvis Darko, Managing Editor of the News Central Newspaper, has offered a forceful defence of suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, asserting that her decision to publicly speak out against the impeachment process is not only justified but essential to Ghana’s democratic health.
According to him, the Chief Justice’s recent press conference, though controversial, is a necessary challenge to opaque procedures and constitutional rigidity that may be failing the cause of justice.
“If you are working with an institution and something is happening that you are not happy about, don’t just close your mouth and say, it is written in the constitution”
Elvis Darko, Managing Editor of the News Central Newspaper
Darko insisted that what Justice Torkornoo has done is far from misconduct. “The woman is opening our eyes,” he said, arguing that her refusal to remain silent is comparable to past moral revolutions that confronted unjust systems upheld by legal frameworks.
Referring to slavery, which was once enshrined in the constitutions of several countries, Darko drew parallels to current judicial practices, suggesting that legality does not always equate to justice.
For Darko, the core of the matter is not whether the Chief Justice’s conduct violated Article 146, which mandates in-camera proceedings in impeachment processes, but whether that provision itself is serving the interests of justice in this instance.
He questioned the insistence on secrecy, particularly when the subject of the proceeding – Justice Torkornoo herself – is willing to waive such confidentiality. “Who is the whole Article 146 protecting?” he asked. “It’s supposed to protect the person who is being accused, right?”
Accountability Versus Constitutionality
Darko said the press conference was powerful not because it defied a constitutional order, but because it laid bare a process that many Ghanaians may not fully understand. In his view, by taking her case to the public, the suspended Chief Justice has ignited important conversations about due process and fairness.
“If the CJ had kept quiet and had not spoken, how will the public get to know all that she is being taken through? Whatever the outcome, we would’ve just said, ‘Oh, she was taken through a process.’ As to whether that process was fair to her – how would we get to know?”
Elvis Darko, Managing Editor of the News Central Newspaper
He acknowledged that many within the government and the justice system were uncomfortable with her actions, but said that should not discredit the issues she has raised.
“Whatever she’s put out there will go beyond the borders of this country. Governments and powerful decision makers worldwide will all look at what the woman is saying” he added, explaining that her actions would invariably attract much needed international scrutiny into the unfair impeachment process.
Darko believes that constitutional provisions should not gag a person enduring what they perceive to be injustice. He praised Justice Torkornoo’s steps in bringing the issues to the public even if that meant violating questionable constitutional provisions.
In this context, he cited how history often vindicates lone voices who challenge powerful systems. “Sometimes in the long run you will realise that that person’s single decision will now inure to the benefit of the whole country.”
He dismissed the notion that Justice Torkornoo’s act of public address was a betrayal of her judicial position, arguing instead that it would guide future jurisprudence.
“Regardless of whatever happens at the end of the day, justices that will be sitting on cases in future will be guided by some of the things that she has raised”
Elvis Darko, Managing Editor of the News Central Newspaper
Right to Face One’s Accuser
Darko further raised serious concerns about procedural fairness, particularly the inability of the suspended Chief Justice to face her accuser(s). He framed this as a major breach of justice.
“If somebody accuses me that ‘Elvis is a thief’ and I go to court and the judge says that I will not hear from the person who accused me – how will I, as a normal human being, feel?”
Elvis Darko, Managing Editor of the News Central Newspaper
He elaborated that under the current committee proceedings, Justice Torkornoo will not be allowed to cross-examine the person or people who made the complaints against her, which he finds baffling and deeply unfair.
“I don’t even get the head and tail of such a decision,” Darko said, arguing that constitutional law should evolve with society’s understanding of justice, not stand as an unquestioned authority.
He questioned the legitimacy of rigidly applying the current constitutional provisions to remove Justice Torkornoo, only to later correct the same provisions for future use, if there is even the slightest consensus that some changes must be made.
Charged, Darko declared that the suspended Chief Justice should not resign, and that her resistance will benefit the nation in the long term. In his view, speaking out, even against constitutional constraints, can catalyse positive change.
And in this instance, Darko contended that what some see as misconduct is, in fact, a vital act of civic courage by Justice Torkornoo.
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