The opposition said the suspension of the Chief Justice of Ghana was a “abuse of power.”

Opposition MPs in Ghana severely condemned the country’s chief justice’s moratorium, accusing John Mahama of trying to “pack the court” with judges who sympathized with the ruling NDC.

Gertrude Torkornoo was removed from her post on Wednesday, the first time in the country’s history that the chief justice was suspended.

The lawsuit comes after three petitions filed against Ms. Torkornoo’s allegations.

The contents of the petition have not been made public and Ms. Torkornoo has not commented on the matter publicly.

With long-term overdue moves to clean up the judiciary, Mahama’s supporters support the move.

But MPs said in a statement that the opposition condemned it as “no more than a bold judicial coup, a reckless abuse of executive power and a direct attack on Ghana’s judicial independence.”

On Tuesday, the president’s statement said the chief justice was asked to resign so that the allegations against her could be investigated.

Two more petitions have been filed against Ms Torkornoo since the announcement of the moratorium.

Former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame told BBC [judiciary] In the history of the country”.

Before Ms. Torkornoo was suspended, at least two lawsuits were filed, challenging the legitimacy of the procedures used by the president.

By law, the president should give a copy of the petition to the Chief Justice, and he then failed to do that at first. However, he did make them available later.

The caucus of opposition MPs said Mahama “violated” due process by suspending the chief justice before the Supreme Court ruled on these lawsuits.

But some Ghanaians support the president’s move.

“I think the president is protecting the Ghanaian judiciary from the actions of someone who should not keep her behavior… If there is a stinking smell in the room, you have to let the air in the fresh air.”

Some accused the Supreme Court of several high-profile political cases related to former President Nana Akufo-Addo and his party under Ms. Torkornoo.

For example, last year, the Justice ruled that the decision by lawmakers to declare vacant vacancy for four members of Congress was unconstitutional.

Ghana has 15 Chief Justices whose work involves overseeing the country’s judicial administration.

Those who ended their term through retirement before Ms. Torkornoo – no one was suspended or permanently deleted.

The Chief Justice can only remove him from the office for a few reasons, such as incompetence or misconduct.

Ms. Torkornoo is the third female chief justice in Ghana and was nominated by Akufo-Addo in 2023.

Ms. Torkono survived a request for dismissal earlier this year, Reuters reported, when Akufo-Addo said the petition had “several shortcomings”.

A five-member committee has now been formed to investigate the current allegations against Ms. Torkornoo.

Ghana Story from the BBC:

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