Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Essaba Torkornoo has through her lawyers instituted a legal action at the Supreme Court against the Attorney-General and the Justice Pwamang Committee. The suspended CJ through her lawyer Godfred Yeboah Dame is seeing an interlocutory injunction to stop the work of a five-member committee established by President Mahama to investigate three petitions against her removal from office.
The suspended Chief Justice also wants the court to restrain Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu from participating in the proceedings of the Committee established to inquire into the petitions against her on the back claims the two together with Justice Yoni Kulendi secretly met lawyer for one of the petitioners Thaddeus Sory to discuss the case. A former NPP parliamentary aspirant for the Adenta constituency Alfred Ababio Kumi, popularly known as Adenta Kumi has petitioned President Mahama for dissolution of the Pwamang committee over same allegation of a secret meeting. Thaddeus Sory has however dismissed such claims describing them as “a monstrous lie”.
In her statement of claim, the suspended Chief Justice in addition prays the Apex Court to issue an order to quash her suspension which was issued by President Mahama in accordance with the constitution.
The suit, filed on May 21, 2025, seeks to have the court intervene in the matter before the committee scheduled to sit tomorrow takes further action.
Below are excerpts of the suit filed by immediate past Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame on behalf of his client the suspended Chief Justice:
“An order setting aside the warrant for suspension issued by the President dated 2nd April, 2025 to suspend the Plaintiff as Chief Justice of the Republic;
“A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 23, 146(6) and (7) and 296(a)and(b) of the Constitution, the 2nd defendant, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, is not qualified to be a chairman or member of the committee set up by the President to inquire into the petitions against the Plaintiff on account of having adjudicated and given various rulings in favour of one of the petitioners, Daniel Ofori in actions filed in the Supreme Court;
“An order prohibiting the 2nd defendant, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, from presiding as Chairman of the committee or participating in the proceedings of the committee set up to inquire into the petitions against the Plaintiff;
“A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 23, 127(1) and (2), 146(6) and (7) and 296(a) and (b) of the Constitution, the appointment of the 3rd defendant, Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, as a member of the committee set up by the President to inquire into the petitions against the Plaintiff, at a time when he had already sat as a member of a panel of the Supreme Court constituted under article 128(2) of the Constitution to hear an application for interlocutory injunction filed by a Ghanaian citizen challenging the “article 146 proceedings” initiated against the Plaintiff, violates the independence of the Judiciary;
“An order prohibiting the 3rd defendant, Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, from siting as a member of or participating in the proceedings of the committee set up to inquire into the petitions against the Plaintiff;
“A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 146(1), (2), (4), 23 and 296 of the Constitution and sections 1, 2, and 4 of the Oaths Act, 1972, the 4th, 5th and6th defendants are not qualified to undertake the functions entrusted on them as members of the committee set up by the President to inquire into the petitions against the Plaintiff;
“An order restraining the committee set up by the President to inquire into the three petitions against the Chief Justice composed of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th defendants from proceeding to carry out the terms of reference of the committee set up under article 146(6) as laid out in the letter dated 22nd April, 2025”. She prayed.
