Suspended CJ alleges abuse of constitutional right, due process in inquiry against her

Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has described the ongoing impeachment inquiry against her as a grave affront to judicial independence and her fundamental human rights.

In a supplementary affidavit filed at the Supreme Court on Monday, May 26, Justice Torkornoo detailed what she called a “systematic and deliberate miscarriage of justice,” asserting that the process she is being subjected to is more degrading than how treason suspects are treated.

“The inquiry has become a theater of injustice, devoid of basic fairness, and designed to strip me of dignity,” she wrote in the affidavit, which supports her request for an interlocutory injunction to freeze the proceedings.

Justice Torkornoo alleges that since initiating legal action on May 21, events have unfolded with disturbing speed and disregard for legal propriety. Despite notifying the investigative committee of her Supreme Court suit and supplying all relevant documentation, she claims the panel pressed on with hearings the very next day.

Recounting what she termed a pattern of procedural abuses, Justice Torkornoo pointed to a May 15 incident where her lawyer appeared before the committee only to be completely sidelined, despite having received formal hearing notices.

“The committee refused to acknowledge my counsel and proceeded unilaterally to schedule future sessions,” she alleged.

She further criticized the committee’s allowance of third-party witnesses presented by the petitioners in lieu of direct testimony from the petitioners themselves. This, she argues, breaches the legal norm that requires petitioners to testify under oath and submit to cross-examination.

“This is an outright violation of procedural fairness,” she argued.

Justice Torkornoo also drew attention to what she described as targeted intimidation and indignity. According to her, both she and her legal team were subjected to body searches and barred from using their phones and laptops, while the petitioners' counsel faced no such restrictions. Her family members, including her husband and children, were reportedly denied access to the hearing room.

Perhaps most controversially, she criticized the choice of venue—Osu Castle, a restricted security zone—as deliberately hostile and unprecedented.

She concluded with a stark warning: the actions of the committee threaten not just her position but the broader independence of Ghana’s judiciary.

“The ongoing proceedings appear aimed at orchestrating my removal through unconstitutional means,” she declared. “This is not just my battle—it is a test of the resilience of our judicial system.”

Justice Torkornoo is urging the Supreme Court to step in immediately to prevent what she describes as a grave constitutional crisis.