Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to block a presidentially-appointed committee from investigating petitions that could lead to her removal.
The application, filed on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, asks for an interlocutory injunction to freeze the committee’s operations until the court makes a final decision on the legality of the process.
In her application, Justice Torkornoo argues that the six-member committee set up by President John Mahama under Article 146 of the Constitution should be barred from continuing its work. The committee is composed of Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, alongside former Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo, Major Flora Bazuwaaruah Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah Dziasah.
The Chief Justice is particularly seeking an order to exclude Justices Pwamang and Adibu-Asiedu from participating in the committee’s activities.
“The continued participation of Justices Pwamang and Adibu-Asiedu in the committee raises serious questions of impartiality and undermines public confidence in the fairness of the proceedings,” the application noted.
Additionally, Justice Torkornoo is challenging the warrant of suspension issued by President Mahama, seeking a stay on its implementation until the legal challenge is resolved. Her legal team, Dame and Partners, argues that the suspension may have been procedurally flawed and constitutionally improper, warranting judicial intervention.
“The operation of the President’s warrant issued under Article 146(10) should be suspended until the Supreme Court determines the full merits of the case,” the motion states.
The move comes on the heels of two separate but related suits that were dismissed by the Supreme Court on the same day. In one case, a private citizen, Theodore Kofi Atta-Quartey, unsuccessfully sought to stop the removal process. In the other, the Centre for Citizenship, Constitutional and Electoral Systems (CenCES) also failed to convince the Court to overturn the Chief Justice’s suspension and halt the committee’s work.
Both cases were dismissed by a 4–1 majority decision, with Justice Yaw Asare Darko dissenting.
“While we acknowledge the concerns raised, the majority holds that the President acted within his constitutional mandate,” stated the panel’s ruling in the CenCES case.
The Supreme Court is expected to schedule a hearing on Justice Torkornoo’s application in the coming days, with legal observers closely watching how the judiciary will navigate a politically sensitive case involving its own suspended head.
