Torkornoo challenges removal as Justice of the Supreme Court

Ousted Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, has filed a review application at the High Court challenging her removal by President John Mahama.

She argues that the President lacked the authority to remove a Justice of the Superior Court without following the procedure set out in Article 146 of the Constitution.

The application seeks a declaration that any petition for the removal of a Justice of the Superior Court must be heard by a body properly constituted under Article 146(4).

Justice Torkornoo’s challenge comes after the President communicated her removal on 1 September 2025 as both Chief Justice and a Justice of the Supreme Court.

She contends that the petitions against her related only to her role as Chief Justice and that due process was not followed in her removal as a Supreme Court Justice.

She further claims she was never served with copies of the petitions or the Committee’s prima facie determination, despite the Secretary to the President issuing a warrant for her suspension with immediate effect.

According to the former Chief Justice, the Article 146 Committee, tasked with recommending her removal, had no jurisdiction over her position as a Supreme Court Justice. She argues the President’s warrant of removal is therefore unlawful, null, and void.

Justice Torkornoo is seeking an order to quash the 1 September 2025 warrant and declarations affirming that her removal as a Justice of the Superior Court was unconstitutional.

The High Court is yet to set a date for the hearing of the application.