Award-winning investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has weighed in on the unfolding judicial shake-up, following President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo from office.
Manasseh raised questions about the political undertones in handling petitions against the judiciary. He remarked in a post on Facebook thus;
“One president receives a petition of alleged misconduct against a chief justice he appointed, and the petition is dismissed.
“It doesn’t go through the hearing process. Another president receives petitions against the same chief justice for alleged misconduct and allows the petition to travel its full length, as stipulated by the Constitution.
“Your argument is that the second president’s action is dictated by politics. Could it also be that there was merit in the first petition, but the first president’s action was influenced by politics? Or is the first president a saint?”
His comments come in the wake of President Mahama’s decision, announced in a statement signed by his spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, removing the Chief Justice with immediate effect.
The statement read: “President John Dramani Mahama has, in accordance with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution, removed the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo, from office with immediate effect.”
The removal was triggered by a petition filed by Ghanaian citizen, Mr. Daniel Ofori, which led to the establishment of a committee under Article 146(6) of the Constitution.
According to the Presidency, the committee thoroughly considered the petition alongside available evidence before recommending the Chief Justice’s removal.
