‘I won’t resign’ – Torkornoo declares amid petitions against her

Suspended Chief Justice Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has strongly declared that she will not resign from her position amid impeachment process under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.

Addressing the press on Wednesday, June 25, Justice Torkornoo described the ongoing proceedings as flawed and biased, but maintained that stepping down would wrongly imply an admission of guilt.

Justice Torkornoo alleged that efforts are underway to pressure her into resignation, allowing political actors to spin her departure as confirmation of the allegations against her.

“Resigning or retiring while article 146 proceedings are being conducted to remove a Judge is not an option any Judge or public official is even allowed to have. There is a decided case on the subject by the Supreme Court. The suit number is J6/02/2019.”

“Therefore, if false claims are made against a Judge or any Commissioner or other public office holder subject to article 146 proceedings, just to achieve a political agenda, the solution cannot be to resign or voluntarily retire out of frustration, pressure or fear. One would only find themselves being subjected to two cruelties — a judgment based on false claims, and loss of everything that one has worked for.”

“Efforts are being made to make me feel frustrated and resign so that the architects of the scheme can go back into the media to say that the wild and unfounded allegations in the petitions were not defended because they were true or that I had no credible defence to them.”

As Chief Justice, she argued, it is her duty to stand firm and defend herself against what she described as “false and unwarranted charges.”

“If I resign under these circumstances, I will be saying that this flawed, unknown and opaque process is acceptable. It is not,” she declared.

Her comments follow a Supreme Court decision to strike out a supplementary affidavit she filed in support of her injunction application. In the affidavit, Justice Torkornoo alleged inhumane treatment, violations of her dignity, and described the ongoing proceedings as a “mockery of justice” and a “ruse” to unjustifiably remove her from office.

However, a five-member panel of the apex court upheld an objection by Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai, who argued that the affidavit breached Article 146(8) of the Constitution, which mandates that proceedings for the removal of judges be held in private.

According to the Deputy Attorney General, by deposing to an affidavit that disclosed aspects of the committee’s deliberations, Justice Torkornoo violated the confidentiality requirements of the Constitution.

Her legal counsel, former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, countered that the affidavit was filed within a judicial forum and not disclosed to the general public, arguing that it did not breach the constitutional provision.

Nonetheless, the Supreme Court ruled that the contents of the affidavit indeed violated the confidentiality requirements under Article 146(8) and accordingly struck it out.

Justice Torkornoo’s impeachment proceedings continue as debates intensify over the fairness and transparency of the process.