'You Can't Be Sacked as Chief Justice and Kept as a Judge": Majority Chief Whip Tells Torkornoo

• Former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has filed a suit against the state, challenging her removal as both CJ and a Supreme Court judge
• She argued that the procedure for her dismissal as Ghana's Chief Justice could not be used to remove her as a Justice of the Supreme Court
• Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Majority Chief Whip, stated that her removal as Chief Justice led to her Supreme Court dismissal

The former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Gertrude Torkornoo, has filed a suit at the High Court against the state over her removal.

In the suit filed on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Torkornoo challenged her removal as both Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

She argued that the procedure for dismissal as Chief Justice was distinct from that of a Justice of the Supreme Court and, therefore, she could not be removed from the latter through a process meant solely for her removal as Chief Justice.

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According to her, President John Mahama acted without authority by executing a warrant that removed her as a justice of the court.

Majority Chief Whip reacts to Torkornoo's suit

Reacting to this, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi in the Volta Region and the Majority Chief Whip, stated that Torkornoo's removal as Chief Justice meant that she had also been sacked as a Supreme Court judge.

In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), the Majority Chief Whip, who is a lawyer by training, explained that when one is appointed as Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, he or she is not merely the administrative head of the judiciary but also a juristic officer of the Superior Courts per Article 128(1) of the Constitution.

"By our Constitutional architecture, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana sits in a composite capacity as both a justice of the Superior Court and as the administrative arrowhead of the Judiciary. In other words, you cannot become Chief Justice without first being a Justice of the Superior Courts. The office name speaks for itself: Chief Justice (Chief of all the justices)," he wrote.

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Read Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor's post below:

He further stated that Torkornoo's removal under Article 146 is not a demotion but a full excision from both roles if grounds like misbehaviour are proven.

"When one is appointed as Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, s/he is not merely the admin head of the Judiciary in pursuance of Article 125(4) of the Constitution but s/he is also a juristic officer of the Superior Courts per Article 128(1) of the Constitution. The trespasses that are capable of constituting a basis of a petition for the removal of the 'Chief Judge' as envisaged in Article 146(4) of the Constitution inexorably lead to a removal, when proven, of the CJ qua CJ," he further wrote.

"Such an exercise, therefore, is not one of demotion but excision. That is, the CJ is removed from that composite position as both a justice of the Superior Court and as the admin head of the Judiciary because the proven grounds for dismissal (stated misbehaviour, incompetence, infirmity of mind) also affect the propriety of serving as a Superior Court Justice as well. It is not decoupled," he added.

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The South Dayi MP cited the Judicial Code of Conduct and a 1995 Supreme Court case between the Ghana Bar Association and the Attorney General to buttress his arguments.

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, consequently, predicted that Torkornoo's latest legal action against the state may not be successful.

Torkornoo allegedly tries to retire on benefits

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the head of the Road Safety Authority, Abraham Amaliba, alleged that Gertrude Torkornoo attempted to retire on her benefits.

She was also removed as a Supreme Court judge after petitions for her sacking were assessed by an investigative committee, stating that she had misused public funding.

Source: YEN.com.gh