Dark Clouds Over Ghana’s Judiciary: Minority Slams Mahama Over Chief Justice Torkonoo’s Removal

The political temperature in Ghana has soared following the dramatic removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo from office. In a strongly worded statement issued on September 2, 2025, Hon. John Darko, Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency, described the action as a “flagrant assault on the Judiciary” and a dangerous precedent that undermines the independence of the state’s institutions.

According to the statement, the decision by President John Dramani Mahama to remove Justice Torkonoo, based on the findings of a presidential investigative committee, is nothing short of an executive overreach. “1st September of every year must be commemorated as the day in which the judicial branch of Ghana’s political institutions was finally subjugated by the executive. It must live in infamy,” the MP declared.

The minority in parliament expressed shock and disappointment, noting that although they were aware of the administration’s “machinations” to oust the Chief Justice, they had hoped the President would exercise restraint and uphold judicial independence.

The statement further warned that Ghana has now joined “the unenviable group of nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka which have removed their chief justices for political purposes.”

Darko also linked the development to broader partisan motives, citing the president’s alleged comments to NDC lawyers and claims by NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia that both Justice Torkonoo and the Electoral Commission Chair must be removed to secure electoral advantage. He argued that the removal forms part of the NDC’s “grand agenda to bastardize the institutions of state and enable them run the country as a gangster town.”

The Minority’s call has reignited the national debate on separation of powers, judicial independence, and the future of Ghana’s democracy. For now, the country awaits the next steps in this unprecedented constitutional and political storm.