It was wrong for the Acting CJ to lead empaneling in Torkornoo case - Godfred Dame insists

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has described arsenic retired of spot the empaneling of the Acting Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, connected the Supreme Court sheet that heard an exertion for the suspension of Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo.

Reacting to the court’s bulk determination to disregard the exertion of his client, Godfred Dame, who had besides earlier raised his objection during the proceedings, described Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s inclusion connected the sheet arsenic a funny case.

“I find it rather intriguing to commencement with that the Acting Chief Justice himself presided implicit the proceedings, and, arsenic I said, I find it precise incongruous due to the fact that indeed, if astatine each determination is immoderate beneficiary from each of this, it is the Acting Chief Justice. He is simply a nonstop beneficiary of each of these,” helium stated.

He stated that it is unprecedented and incorrect that the Acting Chief Justice, who empaneled the bench, besides decided to beryllium connected the case.

He further described the near-split determination of the tribunal arsenic telling.

“It’s a three-to-two ruling, a precise constrictive decision. We volition hold for the reasons; erstwhile the reasons come, we volition counsel ourselves. The narrowness of the determination itself indicates intelligibly that the exertion had merit,” helium said.

A five-member sheet of the apex tribunal of the land, chaired by the Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, dismissed the petition filed by the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, by a 3:2 bulk decision.

The justices who voted to disregard the exertion were Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Justice Yonny Kulendi, and Justice Amadu Omoro Tanko.

The dissenting judges were Justice Ernest Gyaewu and Justice Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu.

The president of the sheet announced that the afloat judgement would beryllium released connected May 21, 2025.

Vincent Ekow Assafuah filed a question astatine the Supreme Court seeking to halt the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo by President John Dramani Mahama.

The application, filed connected Thursday, April 24, 2025, requested that the Supreme Court contented an bid restraining immoderate further enactment related to the Chief Justice’s removal nether Article 146 until the tribunal has heard and delivered its last ruling connected an already pending substance regarding the issue.

Assafuah, done his lawyers, besides requested that the tribunal restrain the committee of enquiry established by the president from proceeding with the probe into the petitions filed against the Chief Justice.

In the suit, the lawmaker raised concerns that the petition against the Chief Justice, her consequent suspension, and the enactment of a committee to analyse the substance are “a farce and the merchandise of a preconceived orchestration to unconstitutionally region the Chief Justice from office.”

GA/AE