Supreme Court Dismiss Injunction Application Against Gertrude Torkonoo's Suspension

• The Supreme Court of Ghana has dismissed an injunction filed by Old Tafo MP Vincent Ekow Assafuah against the Chief Justice’s suspension
• The court ruled in a 3-2 majority, with Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and two others voting to dismiss the case
• Assafuah had sought to stop President Mahama from initiating Article 146 proceedings to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo

The Supreme Court of Ghana has dismissed an injunction application filed by the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, against Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo's suspension.

The injunction sought to prevent President John Mahama from proceeding with the constitutional process outlined in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution to remove the Chief Justice.

However, the apex court disagreed in a 3-2 majority decision, with Justices Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu and Ernest Gaewu dissenting.

Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, along with Justices Yonny Kulendi and Amadu Tanko, ruled to dismiss the application by the Old Tafo MP.

The court indicated that it would make its full decision on the dismissal available on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Vincent Ekow Assafuah was represented in court by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame.

During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the Acting Chief Justice reconstituted the panel, comprising himself, Justice Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi, Justice Amadu Tanko, and Justice Ernest Gaewu.

However, the lawyer for the applicant raised an objection, challenging the participation of the Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.

Godfred Dame argued that it was procedurally wrong for the Acting Chief Justice to both empanel and preside over a matter directly involving the substantive Chief Justice.

The Supreme Court, however, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the objections.

Prof Asare reacts to Supreme Court's ruling

Reacting to this, Stephen Kwaku Asare, a US-based Ghanaian law professor, stated that the claim that the Acting Chief Justice has a personal interest in the outcome of the petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice was both legally and logically difficult to sustain.

In a Facebook post, Prof Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, further stated that the Acting Chief Justice assumes his current role not by personal ambition or executive discretion, but by the operation of a constitutional command.

"There is no assurance that the Acting Chief Justice will be appointed as the substantive Chief Justice if the petitions succeed. That appointment is the prerogative of the President, following the prescribed constitutional process. Conversely, the failure of the petitions does not diminish his standing as the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court," he wrote.

"To suggest, therefore, that he has a personal stake in the outcome is to misapprehend both the mechanics of constitutional succession and the ethos of judicial service," he added.

Read Kwaku Azar's Facebook post below:

On the substantive matter of the interlocutory injunction, Kwaku Azar said relief should be granted only where there is a compelling legal foundation and clear and convincing evidence of a constitutional or statutory violation.

"Injunctions restraining constitutional officers from performing their duties are extraordinary remedies. Courts approach such applications with the utmost caution, guided by principles of judicial restraint, the separation of powers, and fidelity to the constitutional framework," he stated.

"Such relief should be granted only where there is a compelling legal foundation, clear and convincing evidence of a constitutional or statutory violation, and no viable alternative remedy that can safeguard the integrity of the process or avert irreparable harm. To enjoin a constitutionally-designated officer from performing duties that arise solely out of constitutional necessity—not self-interest—is to risk destabilising the careful equilibrium of our constitutional architecture," he further opined.

President Mahama suspends Gertrude Torkornoo

On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, YEN.com.gh reported that President Mahama had suspended Gertrude Torkornoo as the Chief Justice of Ghana.

This was after a prima facie case was established against her by the Council of State on three petitions seeking her removal.

Following this, the President, in a statement released by his spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, named Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as the Acting Chief Justice.

The statement also indicated that a five-member committee had been set up to investigate the allegations against the suspended Chief Justice.

Source: YEN.com.gh