The former Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Sam Pyne, has accused former President John Dramani Mahama of plotting to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo from office, regardless of legal merit.
His comments come in the wake of mounting criticism against the Chief Justice following her recent petition to the Supreme Court.
Justice Torkornoo is seeking to halt proceedings by a five-member committee set up to investigate multiple petitions calling for her removal.
Suspended under Article 146(10) of the 1992 Constitution by President Mahama, the Chief Justice has filed an interlocutory injunction at the Supreme Court.
She is also requesting the recusal of two committee members—Justices Gabriel Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu—citing concerns about their impartiality.
The committee, which began its in-camera hearings on Thursday, May 15, is scheduled to meet three times a week.
It includes Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Pwamang as chair, as well as former Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo, Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah.
The committee was established after President Mahama made a prima facie determination in consultation with the Council of State.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen, Mr. Pyne defended the Chief Justice’s right to seek redress in court and criticized those questioning her decision.
“What’s wrong with the Chief Justice’s petition to the Supreme Court? There’s absolutely nothing wrong, yet people are attacking her for it,” Pyne stated. “Remember Justice Kulendi? When issues came up in Jakpa’s case and his name was mentioned, he recused himself from the panel, a sign of integrity. Justices Pwamang and Adibu-Asiedu should have done the same from the start.”
He further claimed that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its leadership appear determined to remove Justice Torkornoo.
“This clearly shows that the NDC—from the President down to the last party communicator—has made up its mind to sack the Chief Justice, regardless of the facts,” Pyne alleged. “No one within the NDC seems willing to objectively consider the merits of the case.”
