The Minority in Parliament has issued a fervent appeal to revered traditional and religious leaders, urging them to counsel President John Dramani Mahama against pursuing the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
According to the Minority caucus, the petitions seeking the Chief Justice’s removal are baseless and fail to meet the constitutional threshold for such action.
Speaking at an emergency press conference, Suame MP John Darko emphasized that the attempt to oust the Chief Justice constitutes a “naked usurpation of the Judicial powers by the President”.
He implored traditional and religious leaders to intervene, stating, “To our revered traditional leaders and religious leaders, the time to call the president to advise him is now, the time to pray for our country is now. We should not wait until it’s too late”.
Darko further expressed concerns about plans to invoke Article 146(a) to appoint a Supreme Court Judge sympathetic to the NDC government as the new Chief Justice.
“We are aware of plans being hatched to invoke article 146(a) to appoint someone who is a known sympathizer of the NDC government to replace the Chief Justice,” he revealed.
The Minority caucus warned that entertaining such “loose petitions” would undermine Ghana’s democratic progress, posing a rhetorical question: “How can any serious country, mindful of its past, and desirous of improving its democratic credentials entertain such loose petitions and orchestrate the destruction of the last bastion of the pillars of our democracy?”
In light of this, the Minority is rallying Ghanaians, civil society organizations, and foreign partners to join forces against what they perceive as an assault on the judiciary’s independence.
