The Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has clarified that President John Mahama’s decision to suspend the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, does not in any way suggest she is guilty of the allegations brought against her.
Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse on Tuesday, April 22, Mr Kwakye Ofosu stated that the suspension is a constitutional step meant to allow due process, and not a verdict on the Chief Justice’s conduct.
- Read also: Mahama suspends Chief Justice after setting up committee to probe petitions
“The President has not, by this step, that the Chief Justice is guilty of any offense or any of the claims contained in the petition," he stated.
"The President is only enjoined by law after having determined prima facie to set up a committee to look into the allegations and offer the Chief Justice every available opportunity to answer to these claims in detail."
According to him, three separate petitions were submitted to the President, each alleging various forms of wrongdoing by the Chief Justice and calling for her removal.
- Read also: Council of State advice on Chief Justice suspension was poisonous – Tuah-Yeboah
He explained that Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution lays out a clear process for such situations, which the President has strictly adhered to.
“In doing so, the president rightfully requested the Chief Justice to present responses after she had been served with copies of the petition. The Chief Justice did this.
"The president then went back to consult the Council of State to determine whether, when you set the responses of the chief justice against the allegations contained in the petitions, those petitions are frivolous or they merit further scrutiny,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.
He further highlighted that the formation of a committee to investigate the allegations is a constitutional requirement and is composed according to the law, with two Supreme Court Justices and three members who are not lawyers or part of the Council of State.
"The Constitution requires that this process be consultative. And so you find that at every step of the way, the President has consulted the Council of State,” he added.
"The President has kept faith with the Constitution and done everything by the book and ensured that his actions are well grounded in the 1992 constitution."
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Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo
Felix Kwakye Ofosu
President John Mahama
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