Social activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has described the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo as a moment that should spark sober reflection rather than celebration.
Sharing his thoughts in a Facebook post, he argued that the ouster marks the end of a disappointing chapter in Ghana’s judiciary.
“A chief justice has been removed. But as someone with a front row seat through the process, hear me clearly when I say there is nothing to celebrate here,” Barker-Vormawor wrote.
According to him, Chief Justice Araba failed to rise to the demands of her office, often choosing silence when the nation needed courage and integrity.
“The removal of the Chief Justice is not a victory, but the closing act of a disappointing chapter.
“Araba held the highest seat of justice at a time when courage and integrity were desperately needed, yet too often her leadership chose silence when the people cried out for answers. She enabled Mampam’s worst impulses and chose the convenience of power,”* he said.
Barker-Vormawor went on to stress that her tenure weakened trust in the judiciary.
“Instead of standing as the guardian of our Constitution, she presided over a judiciary that slipped further into mistrust and estrangement. Fixing and removing judges as political paymasters called for,” he remarked.
He noted that the symbolism of the Chief Justice’s office demanded more than what Araba offered.
“The Chief Justice is meant to be the moral compass of the Republic. Yet her tenure will be remembered for opportunities missed; for moments when the office could have been a shield for the weak, but too often became a fortress for the regime.”
While criticizing her leadership, Barker-Vormawor commended the committee of judges who recommended her removal.
“It is important that we commend the committee of her peers who, in the face of pressure and deliberate misinformation, chose duty over expedience.
“I am certain that their recommendation was not an easy call, but their restraint and quiet stoicism preserved the dignity of the process, despite Araba’s own best efforts to ensure the opposite.”
For him, Araba’s removal should serve as a warning about the dangers of weak leadership. “Sadly, Araba’s removal is a reminder that leadership without courage corrodes institutions from within.
“It is my prayer that what has fallen today is not just a person but also the lack of confidence in the idea that justice in this Republic can ever be impartial and bold.”*
Barker-Vormawor concluded with a call for urgent reform of Ghana’s judiciary.
“Araba is gone, but her signature and the culture she symbolizes remains stuck on every wall, like dried blood. Our Judiciary is not fit for purpose.
Reform it or we will perish. Let us not sweep the cracks under the carpet. I hope the 4th Republic learns from the fate of the 1st. Salam Aleikum!”
