The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has intensified its criticism of President John Dramani Mahama’s suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, with the Association’s Public Relations Officer, Saviour Kudze, describing the action as unconstitutional due to the absence of legal backing for the exercise of presidential discretion.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Tuesday, April 29, he stressed that any discretionary powers exercised under Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution must be regulated by law to prevent abuse and ensure transparency.
“Subject to exercise discretion under article 296, they ought to have been made regulations like a constitutional instrument before exercising such discretion because the essence is to govern, how it is exercised so that it doesn’t get abused,” Kudze explained.
He added that members of the GBA, during a meeting held on Saturday, April 26, were unanimous in their view that the President had acted outside the bounds of the Constitution.
“That is all we are saying, that in the absence of that regulation, the membership at the meeting on Saturday were of the view that the President had not done well because he had acted unconstitutionally because no constitutional instrument had been passed before he exercised the discretion,” Kudze stated.
This strong stance follows an official GBA statement dated April 26, in which the Association called for the immediate reversal of the Chief Justice’s suspension.
The GBA maintained that while the Constitution allows for presidential discretion under Article 146(10), it must be guided by clear regulations to ensure lawful and fair application.