Lawyer and human rights advocate Gloria Ofori-Boadu has clashed with Inusah Fuseini, a leading member of the governing NDC, over the handling of the petition seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Speaking during a panel discussion on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, April 19, 2025, the human rights advocate accused the Office of the President of lacking integrity, alleging that it leaked portions of the petition seeking the removal of the Chief Justice.
She contrasted this with Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s conduct, stating that the Chief Justice has acted with utmost integrity, noting that although she could have leaked information related to the petition, she chose not to.
“The interesting thing is that the content of the petition, which was submitted to the president, has been leaked, but fortunately, the response of the Chief Justice has not.
“So, there is integrity when it comes to the party of the Chief Justice, but there is no integrity when it comes to the party of the presidency,” she said.
She further argued, “From Article 146(6), the petition is submitted to the president, isn’t it? So, if we are going by that, then that is where the petition was submitted, and that is why the leakage took place.
“Now, what upsets me is that when it came to the petition, there was no integrity in providing confidence and sanctity on the grounds of the petition. But when it comes to the Chief Justice, her integrity must be assured because she could also have leaked her responses.”
Ofori-Boadu also urged Ghanaians not to conclude that the Chief Justice has done wrong because of the petition against her but should wait and hear her side of the story before passing judgement on the matter.
“I will say we are jumping the gun, because Ghana, we are now in a constitutional liberal democracy. In fact, if I just say ‘constitutional’, I am limiting it, because there once was a time that we had the one-time democracy. But now we have the constitutional liberal democracy, which is broadening on the principles of human rights, the right to be heard, the right to freedom and all that. We have all these freedoms enshrined in our Constitution,” she stated.
Inusah Fuseini, one of the co-panellists on the programme, expressed shock at Ofori-Boadu’s claim that the petition was leaked by the Presidency.
He labelled the allegation as a “fallacy,” arguing that the leak could just as easily have come from the Chief Justice herself or from any of the three individuals who submitted the petition for her removal.
“Is it the president who wrote the petition?… Didn’t the president forward the petition to the Chief Justice?… Open your mind.
“First of all, the petition was written by somebody. Number 2, the petition was submitted to the Chief Justice, so she has the petition. What gives you the confidence to say the leakage could not have come from the document sent to the Chief Justice? What gives you that confidence?” he fumed.
About the petition for the removal of the Chief Justice:
On March 25, 2025, President Mahama began consultations with the Council of State following the submission of the three petitions seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo.
According to a statement from the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the petitions were forwarded to the Council of State in accordance with the constitutional procedure outlined in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
While the details of the petitions remain undisclosed, the development marks the beginning of a formal process that could potentially lead to significant changes within Ghana’s judicial system.
In a letter dated March 27, 2025, Justice Torkornoo requested copies of the petitions and asked for at least seven days to respond, in line with due process requirements.
Chief Justice Torkornoo submitted her official response to the petitions seeking her removal from office as of Monday, April 7, 2025.
According to a report by 3news.com, Justice Torkornoo submitted her response to President John Dramani Mahama and the Council of State before the expiration of a 10-day deadline given by the president after the petitions were filed.
The report noted that with her response now submitted, the Council of State will begin the review process to determine whether a prima facie case exists to warrant further proceedings.
Watch the clash in the video below:
Gloria Ofori Boadu accuses President of undermining process, applauds CJ for withholding sensitive documents.#Newsfile pic.twitter.com/2Pdh8juuVE
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) April 19, 2025
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