Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has raised strong concerns over the ongoing process to remove Ghana’s Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, cautioning against the politicization of what should be a constitutionally guided and discreet procedure.
In an open letter released on Monday, May 26, 2025, Amidu criticized the premature public disclosure of the process by the government’s communication machinery, describing it as “worrying” and “displeasing.”
His comments come in the wake of a press release issued by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on March 25, 2025. The statement revealed that President John Dramani Mahama had consulted the Council of State on three separate petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice, in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
Amidu aligned his position with that of veteran statesman and legal luminary Sam Okudzeto, who, speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on March 27, expressed dismay over the public handling of the matter.
“Let me emphasise that this should not have been publicised. When I was on the Council [of State], we felt it was wrong for a petition of this nature to be made public when submitted to the President and forwarded to the Council of State,” Okudzeto noted. “It is only when the Council and the President conclude that a prima facie case has been made that publicity should follow.”
Although the content of the petitions was not disclosed in the government’s release, tensions escalated that same day when New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, filed a writ at the Supreme Court seeking to halt the petition process.
The MP, represented by Dame and Partners—a law firm led by immediate past Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame—filed the suit at 9:20 a.m. on March 27. The legal action was followed by an application for an interlocutory injunction to freeze all related proceedings.
Amidu questioned the appropriateness of Dame’s involvement, highlighting the former Attorney-General’s prior role in Chief Justice Torkornoo’s appointment.
“Mr. Godfred Dame is the immediate past Attorney-General under whose watch Mrs. Gertrude Torkornoo was proposed by the NPP Government to the Judicial Council, nominated by President Akufo-Addo, approved by Parliament, and appointed as the Chief Justice,” Amidu emphasized.
He warned that what began as a constitutional petition had now morphed into a politically charged affair, fueled by partisan interests and legal muscle-flexing.
“When I read the Writ filed on behalf of Vincent Assafuah by Dame and Partners, I felt that a simple petition for the removal of the Chief Justice had taken a political turn,” Amidu wrote.
