By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Attorney General’s Department and the Ministry of Justice has strongly opposed an attempt by the suspended Chief Justice (CJ), Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, to halt the committee probing multiple petitions seeking her removal from office.
The Attorney General’s Office also opposed the suspended CJ’s request to disqualify members of the committee from hearing the petitions against her.
Justice Torkornoo, who is currently fighting to retain her position as the country’s Chief Justice, filed a motion at Ghana’s apex court—the Supreme Court—seeking to suspend the ongoing probe into her removal.
The embattled CJ filed an injunction application following her petition to the Supreme Court for a constitutional interpretation.
She argues that she has the right to waive her privacy during the proceedings, contends that the prima facie finding against her—delivered without a reasoned ruling—was unconstitutional, and seeks an order to bar committee members from presiding over her case.
In her court filing, Justice Torkornoo described the proceedings as a “mockery of justice” and claimed they were a deliberate attempt to remove her unjustly.
In response to the injunction request, the Attorney General’s Office, in an affidavit, dismissed Torkornoo’s allegation that she was not informed of the reasons behind the prima facie determination.
The state asserted that all relevant documents had already been shared with the appropriate parties.
The affidavit also criticised the Chief Justice’s legal approach, arguing that she used the wrong procedure in seeking access to the documents by way of an injunction.
The state has, therefore, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss Justice Torkornoo’s application.
