A team of high-profile lawyers, including Tsatsu Tsikata, Thaddeus Sory, and Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has emerged as legal representatives for petitioners behind the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, according to a report by aasaaseradio.com.
Among the petitioners is Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ayamga Yakubu Akolgo, who is representing himself in the probe. Lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a known activist, is advocating on behalf of Daniel Ofori, another petitioner.
Committee Begins In-Camera Proceedings
A five-member investigative committee, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, held its first closed-door session on Thursday, May 15, 2025, following the suspension of the Chief Justice by President John Dramani Mahama. The committee includes Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo of the Ghana Armed Forces, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah from the University of Ghana.
At the beginning of the hearing, Chief Justice Torkornoo, through her legal team, requested that proceedings be held publicly in the interest of transparency. However, the committee denied the request, citing Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates that such proceedings remain private.
The hearings are being conducted under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47), a move that has drawn scrutiny from legal observers questioning due process in cases of such magnitude.
Background of Suspension
President Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo on April 22, 2025, in response to three separate petitions alleging misconduct and incompetence, in accordance with Article 146(10) of the Constitution.
The first petition, filed on February 14, 2025, came from a group called Shining Stars of Ghana, led by Kingsley Agyei. The second, submitted by Daniel Ofori on March 17, 2025, listed 21 allegations of misconduct and four counts of incompetence related to the Chief Justice’s administrative duties. The third petition was filed by ACP Ayamga Yakubu Akolgo, a senior police officer at the National Police Headquarters in Accra, also on February 14, 2025.
Stay tuned for updates on the ongoing probe.