Justice Torkornoo Nominated By Akufo-Addo as Next Chief Justice: Yonny Kulendi Fails to Secure Top Job

• President Nana Akufo-Addo has nominated Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as the next Chief Justice of Ghana
• Justice Torkornoo's appointment comes a month to the date of retirement of the current Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who attains 70 on May 24, 2023
• The president's nomination was contained in a letter addressed to the Council of State and is consistent with the Constitution

An experienced member of the Supreme Court bench, Justice Gertrude Arada Esaaba Torkornoo, has been nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.

By this nomination, Justice Torkornoo beats another respected Supreme Court justice Yonny Kulendi, to the coveted position.

According to a report by GhanaWeb, the president announced his nomination in a letter to the Council of State.

The president explained in the letter to the Council that since the current Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah will retire on May 24, 2023, his seventieth birthday, he has nominated Justice Torkornoo as a replacement in order to avoid a vacuum.

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"Article 144 (1) of the constitution, which governs the appointment of a Chief Justice, requires that I, first, consult with the Council of State before seeking the approval of Parliament," the news report quoted from the said letter to the Council of State.

Yonny Kulendi was rumoured as the favourite for CJ position

Justice Yonny Kulendi's name popped up as a more likely replacement for CJ Kwasi Anin Yeboah last week.

According to a report by the New Crusading Guide newspaper, President Akufo-Addo prefers Justice Kulendi to Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.

Earlier, the state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper published that Justice Torkornoo was going to be named the 15th CJ of Ghana.

Chief Justice Anin Yeboah denies $5m bribery allegation

In July 2021, YEN.com.gh reported that Justice Anin Yeboah denied claims that he took a $ 5 million bribe to sway a decision in a court case.

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Per a statement dated Monday 12, July 2021, he made an appeal to the then Commissioner of Police (COP), Isaac Ken Yeboah, and the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to initiate a criminal probe into the issue.

The damaging allegation started when Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta IV filed a claim to the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council against a lawyer known as Akwasi Afrifa.

Ogyeedom claimed he paid Akwasi Afrifa $100,000 on the basis that he would get a pleasing judgment on his behalf.

But in his response to the complaint against him, Afrifa stated that the petitioner (Ogyeedom) told him (Lawyer Afrifa) to refund a GH¢300,000 legal fee paid to him to allegedly enable him (Ogyeedom) to raise a $ 5 million bribe to be paid to the Chief Justice to get a favourable decision in a pending legal dispute.

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Source: YEN.com.gh