Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo has been removed from office following the recommendation of the Committee that was set up to probe petitions that cited her for stated misbehaviour.
A press statement issued by the presidency Monday afternoon [September 1, 2025] said the move was in accordance with Article 149 (9) of 1992 Constitution.
The committee, chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, a Justice on the Supreme Court bench, presented its report on Monday morning.
Under Article 146 (9) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President is bound to follow the recommendations of the committee in such circumstances.
The said article specifically stipulates that “The President shall, in each case, act in accordance with the recommendations of the committee”
A Ghanaian citizen, Daniel Ofori had petitioned the President to remove Justice Torkornoo on grounds of stated misbehaviour as Chief Justice.
The committee, within a four-month period of hearing, found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.
Justice Torkonoo was appointed Chief Justice in 2023 and is the first head of the judiciary in Ghana’s Fourth Republic to be removed from office under the constitutional provision.
She took over from Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah who retired in May 2023.
That made her the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana after Justice Georgina Theodore Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s nomination was approved by Parliament on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Below is a copy of the press statement from the presidency
Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo from office.
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.
This follows receipt of the report of the Committee constituted under Article 146(6) to inquire into a petition submitted by a Ghanaian citizen, Mr Daniel Ofori. After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.
Under Article 146(9), the President is required to act in accordance with the committee’s recommendation.
In April 2025, the presidency announced that President Mahama had received petitions asking that Justice Torkornoo be removed from office.
Upon receiving the petitions and in line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, President Mahama forwarded them to the Council of State for advice in establishing a prima facie case.
Following the determination of a prima facie case, President Mahama in April 2025 suspended Justice Torkornoo and set up a five-member committee to look into the petitions.
The committee was chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, a Justice on the Supreme Court bench.
Other members were Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, also a Justice on the Supreme Court bench, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, a former Auditor-General, Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and Professor James Sefah Dzisah, an associate Professor at the University of Ghana.
In the interim, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, was appointed to act as Chief Justice following the suspension of Justice Torkornoo.
In line with Article 146, all proceedings of the committee were held in camera.
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