The chief judge of Ghana was removed from his duties after probe

The president of Ghana, John Mahama, dismissed the chief judge of the country Gertrude Torkornoo following a recommendation by an investigation.

She had been suspended since April after complaints were filed against her in petitions by three people.

A commission appointed by the president then noted that “reasons of bad behavior declared … had been created and had recommended his withdrawal from his duties,” Mahama’s office said on Monday. Torkornoo rejected allegations as unfounded and politically motivated.

The presidency said that Mahama should act in accordance with the committee’s recommendations. But criticism fear that this creates a worrying precedent and undergoes judicial independence.

In his investigation, the panel examined 10,000 pages of evidence of 13 witnesses on behalf of the petitioner Daniel Ofori. The chief judge also testified and called 12 other witnesses, including experts.

The other two petitions were not concluded.

Ms. Torkornoo was also referred as a judge of the Supreme Court following the committee’s conclusions.

The investigation has found evidence of illegal public funds related to its private trips. Her spouse and daughter would have received compensation using public funds during a private trip with her husband in Tanzania in 2023 and another in the United States with her daughter.

She also faced allegations of interference in appointments by bypassing the procedures to name the judges of the Supreme Court and abuse powers in the transfer of a judicial employee.

Ms. Torkornoo, the third chief judge of Ghana, was appointed in 2023 by the former president Nana Akufo-Addo.

She is the first chief in office to be the subject of an investigation and to reject.

The main judges of Ghana benefit from the security of the occupation – which means that they can only be withdrawn from functions for some reasons, in particular incompetence and bad behavior.

However, Ms. Torkornoo’s legal representatives rejected the basis of her dismissal.

In April, the new Patriotic Party of the Opposition condemned its suspension, describing it as a hunt for political witches and an attempt to undermine judicial independence.

Multiple prosecution contesting the suppression process failed.

She had previously survived a request for withdrawal under Akufo-Addo, which found that the petition had “several gaps”.

She had been accused of prejudice in some of her decisions by the current governess, who was then in opposition.

A former deputy prosecutor general, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, criticized the decision to withdraw the chief judge saying that she created a “dangerous precedent,” reports the AFP news agency.

“The petition that I read showed no appropriate reason to justify its withdrawal … If the threshold is what we read in the petition, then I fear for the future of the judiciary,” he said.

The government’s judicial branch is an independent institution, but the Constitution authorizes checks to ensure a balance of powers.

Critics argue that the abolition of Ms. Torkornoo could erode the independence of the judiciary and allow the executive branch to exert an excessive influence on the judges.

If the executive power is considered to have too much power over the judiciary, it could undermine public confidence in the legal system and create an unequal playing field for justice.

William Nyarko, Executive Director of the Africa Center for Law and Accountability, called for an examination of the law governing the abolition of a chief judge.

He notes that Ghanaian law does not specifically define what constitutes “declared poor conduct”, leaving room for various interpretations and the potential manipulation of the executive.

Mr. Nyarko cited Kenya as an example, where the process begins with the judicial services committee, ensuring the independence of the two institutions.

The chief judge always has the opportunity to challenge her dismissal to court, although she cannot receive a favorable result.