President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has sharply criticised former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo following revelations of financial misconduct, saying that in other jurisdictions, her actions could have landed her in jail.
Cudjoe made the remarks while speaking with Selorm Adonoo on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue after President John Dramani Mahama dismissed Justice Torkornoo from office.
Her removal followed findings by the Article 146 Committee, which concluded that she had unlawfully used public funds for personal trips.
“Listening to all the arguments, I found out that they also relied on the fact that she got herself an imprest, which actually she was not supposed to spend,” Cudjoe said.
“The argument that she should have been guided by a finance officer, because she didn’t know, is neither here nor there.”
The Article 146 Committee’s report stated that Justice Torkornoo had improperly charged the Judicial Service for two separate trips in September 2023 — one to Tanzania with her husband and another to the United States with her daughter.
According to the findings, per diem allowances were also paid to her family members, a move the committee deemed unlawful and unjustifiable both in law and policy.
Expressing his frustration, Cudjoe insisted that political considerations should not overshadow matters of accountability and the rule of law.
“Let’s dissociate politics from this. It gets me angry when I hear of it. She was the head of the judiciary; she knows the law. In other countries, she would have been in jail by now,” he stated.
