‘Unlawful and void’ — Torkornoo drags Mahama to court

Former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has taken legal action against her removal from office by President John Dramani Mahama, asking the Supreme Court to overturn the presidential warrant that ousted her as both Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court.

Getrude Araba Esaaba SackeyTorkornoo argues that while the President may issue a warrant to remove a Chief Justice from office, that power does not extend to removing her as a Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. She contends that only the procedure laid out in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution can be used to remove a Justice of the Superior Court.

In her application, the former Chief Justice is seeking five key reliefs:

1. A declaration that the President lacks the power to remove a Justice of the Superior Court without following Article 146.
2. A declaration that only a body constituted under Article 146(4) has jurisdiction to hear petitions for the removal of a Justice.
3. A declaration that the presidential warrant of September 1, 2025—which stripped her of both positions—is unlawful, null, void, and of no effect.
4. An order of certiorari to quash the warrant of removal for violating constitutional provisions.
5. Any further orders the Supreme Court may consider appropriate.

The case is now set to test the boundaries of presidential authority and constitutional safeguards for judicial independence in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

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