Legal practitioner and National Democratic Congress (NDC) member Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, has called for a review of the process used to determine a prima facie case in removing a Chief Justice, arguing that the current system lacks consistency and clear guidelines.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio, Samoa Addo highlighted how different presidents have approached the process in varying ways due to the absence of a fixed procedure.
“Now the issue is, because we don’t have a hard and fast rule on how the prima facie case should be conducted, various presidents take different approaches,” he told host Wilberforce Asare.
He pointed out that past presidents had set precedents by consulting the Council of State before establishing a prima facie case, referencing the Agyei Twum case as a guiding example.
“There is precedent where the previous president has done this twice—you can look at the precedence. The president referred the matter to the Council of State within the consultative process, which is required by the Agyei Twum case, before establishing a prima facie case.”
Samoa Addo also defended the current Chief Justice’s decision to request a copy of the president’s announcement regarding the case, stating that it was within her rights.
“Where the attention of the Chief Justice was drawn because of the announcement made by the president, it was well within her right to ask for a copy.”
