Suspended CJ is Merely Barking – Ansa-Asare on Injunction to Stop Removal Probe
Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has described the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo’s legal move to halt her removal process as unconstitutional and “very worrying.”
His comments follow the Chief Justice’s filing of an application at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 21, seeking to restrain the committee set up by President Mahama to investigate petitions for her removal.
In the suit, Justice Torkornoo is requesting an interlocutory injunction to suspend all proceedings of the committee, pending the final determination of the case. The application also seeks to bar Justices Pwamang and Adibu-Asiedu from presiding over or participating in any deliberations of the committee.
Speaking on JoyFM’s NewsNight on Wednesday, Mr. Ansa-Asare said the Chief Justice’s legal challenge undermines the Constitution. He accused her and her legal team of attempting to obstruct a lawful process.
“This is a very worrying development — that Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo would seek to stop a constitutional process. Any application to halt the process would, in itself, be unconstitutional,” he stated.
He explained that under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, only the President has the authority to initiate removal proceedings against a Chief Justice upon receiving a formal petition.
“The law is clear: when the Chief Justice is involved, only the President may initiate the removal process pursuant to a petition,” he said.
Mr. Ansa-Asare further insisted that President Mahama has strictly adhered to the constitutional process.
“The President has not violated any of the required procedural steps. Therefore, it will be very difficult for anyone to bring this process to a halt,” he added.
He concluded, “What the lawyers are doing, and what the Chief Justice herself has done, is akin to barking without the ability to bite — they are merely barking.”
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