Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has advised the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, to abandon her legal battle, following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of her application for an injunction.
Justice Torkornoo, had sought to halt the work of a five-member presidential committee investigating petitions for her removal from office. However, on Wednesday, 28 May, the Supreme Court rejected her interlocutory application, thereby allowing the committee to continue its work.
In her application, the suspended Chief Justice, also requested the court to restrain members of the committee, Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo, Major Flora Bazuwaaruah Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah Dziasah, from participating in the inquiry, until the substantive case had been determined.
Reacting to the development on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, 31 May, Mr Cudjoe, said it was time for Justice Torkornoo to step aside.
“At this juncture, my honest view is that she should just give up, because the way things are going, there’s no way she’ll sail through. She will be remembered in history for having fought—perhaps that’s what she wants,” he opined.
Mr Cudjoe, also criticised Justice Torkornoo’s plea for her husband and daughter to be allowed into the proceedings, suggesting it showed a lack of awareness regarding the gravity of her situation.
“It’s a bit pitiful and sad for her to say that her husband and daughter should be allowed in. She should have negotiated with the committee. If these basic things are denied, you should realise that you are already persona non grata—you’ve overstayed your welcome. As brutal as the process may be, it is the law. The law is the law,” he stated.
Justice Torkornoo remains suspended while the inquiry continues under the authority of a committee established by President John Dramani Mahama.
The suspended Chief Justice has filed additional processes at the Supreme Court, alleging violations of her fundamental rights in the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
According to her, the proceedings have been marred by several irregularities, including denial of access to family members, unreasonable searches, and restrictions on access to telephones and laptops.
In a supplementary affidavit filed on Monday, May 26, 2025, to support her earlier application for an interlocutory injunction, Justice Torkornoo argued that these actions amount to mental torture and degrading treatment, in violation of her constitutional rights.
She also questioned the legitimacy of holding the proceedings in a high-security facility at the Castle, Osu, rather than a judicial facility, as has been the practice in similar Article 146 proceedings.
Justice Torkornoo maintains that the use of a cordoned-off high-security facility is unprecedented and raises concerns about the judiciary’s independence.
Her lawyers argue that the persistent violations of her rights show that the proceedings are a “mockery of justice” and a ploy to remove her from office unjustifiably.
The Chief Justice, is respectfully seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention, praying for an injunction to prevent further encroachments on judicial independence and to protect the security of tenure of the Chief Justice and Justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature.
