A group of young Ghanaians on Thursday, May 22, 2025, staged a peaceful picket near Independence Square, close to the premises where the Chief Justice’s probe is being heard. They are demanding justice, transparency, and the revocation of the suspension of Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo.
Reports indicate that the picketing took place at the venue where the committee probing the Chief Justice was sitting.
The protesters, wielding placards with bold inscriptions such as “Chief Justice Suspension Is Political”, “Stop Undermining the Judiciary”, “Don’t Erode Public Trust”, “Save Our Justice System”, and “Restore the Chief Justice Now!”, expressed grave concern about what they described as a politically motivated attempt to destabilize Ghana’s judiciary.
According to the young men, the suspension and likely removal process lacks transparency and is shrouded in secrecy, fueling suspicion and diminishing public confidence in the judicial system.
“This is not just about one person; this is about protecting the sanctity and independence of our judiciary. The Chief Justice has served this country with distinction. If there are credible allegations, let them be handled in a manner that commands public trust, not behind locked doors,” one of the conveners of the protest stated.
The protestors accused elements within the political establishment of orchestrating a campaign to discredit the Chief Justice due to her firm stance on judicial independence.
They further described the suspension a “complete charade and the biggest assault on the judiciary in the nation’s history”.
*Petition to reconstitute committee*
The picketing follows a petition to reconstitute the committee probing the Chief Justice, citing a purported meeting between one of the lawyers for the accused and two other judges who would be probing the case. On Monday, May 19, 2025, a Ghanaian citizen, Alfred Ababio Kumi, petitioned President John Mahama to dissolve the five-member committee he has constituted to investigate some three petitions submitted against the Chief Justice Torkornoo, after the President, together with the Council of State, established a prima facie case against the Chief Justice, which subsequently led to her suspension pending the investigation.
According to a copy of the petition dated May 19, 2025 and received at the presidency at about 4:13 pm on the same day, the petitioner stated reason for his petition is that two members of the committee, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang (Chairman of the committee), Justice Samuel Adibu-Asiedu (member of the committee) in the company of another Supreme Court judge, Justice Yonni Kulendi, were spotted having dinner with Mr Thaddeus Sory, a lawyer who is representing one of the petitioners.
*Petitioner’s case*
The petitioner, Alfred Ababio Kumi, alleged that the evening after the first sitting of the committee on Thursday, May 15, 2025, “between the hours of 7:30 and 8:30 pm, Justices Gabriel Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu together with Justice Yonni Kulendi of the Supreme Court of Ghana were seen having dinner with the counsel for one of the petitioners before the committee, Mr Thaddeus Sory at the Santoku Restaurant, located at Villagio, Airport Residential Area, Accra.
“The strange meeting of the four persons who are keenly interested in and have played, and indeed continue to play, critical roles initiated in the processes for the removal of the Chief Justice excited the curiosity of some persons in the restaurant. Indeed, they were overheard discussing matters relating to the petition. Respectfully, the record of the four Justices Pwamang, Kulendi, Asiedu, and lawyer Thaddeus Sory’s presence at the restaurant and meeting can easily be verified and confirmed,” the petition read in part.
“The above development is of grave worry as proceedings for the removal of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana are a solemn process and should not lend itself to manipulation by any person or authority. The meeting between Justices Pwamang, Kulendi, and Asiedu with Thaddeus Sory clearly has destroyed the integrity of the process and reduced public confidence in the process so far,” Mr Ababio Kumi stated in his petition.
“Both Justices Asiedu and Pwamang are panel members set up to inquire into the petition. They have no business meeting with counsel for one of the petitioners outside working hours at an unofficial place – a restaurant, to have a discussion. This is more serious when the record shows that Justice Pwamang gave judgments in favour of the same petitioner, Daniel Ofori, represented by the same counsel, Thaddeus Sory, in the Supreme Court.
“Their conduct is deplorable and the most unbecoming of justices occupying the highest court in Ghana. It has the tendency to show that the whole process, quite unfortunately, is a sham. In the interest of preserving the integrity of the process, I hereby petition you for an immediate dissolution of the committee, as its ability to dispense justice is clearly compromised,” the petitioner concluded.
