Former Special Prosecutor Martin A.B.K. Amidu has cautioned that forcing Chief Justice Gertrude Esaaba Torkonoo to resign before the conclusion of the ongoing inquiry into her conduct could pave the way for future acts of vengeance.
He warned that aborting the process without proper sanctions, if she is found guilty, would be akin to releasing a wounded snake.
“When one wounds a snake, one must decapitate it, otherwise it will live to kill the next time round,” Amidu wrote in an opinion editorial dated May 8.
Amidu’s statement comes in response to growing calls for the Chief Justice to step down to avoid further public embarrassment.
He strongly opposes such suggestions, arguing that the due process must be allowed to run its course.
Citing past events, Amidu recalled that in 1998, a Supreme Court Justice, Kweku Etrew Amua-Sekyi, was allowed to resign after a prima facie case had been established against him.
At the time, Amidu, who served as Deputy Attorney General, opposed the resignation, warning it could lead to acts of revenge—a warning he said went unheeded.
He said Justice Amua-Sekyi was later appointed Chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission under President John Agyekum Kufuor and allegedly targeted individuals who had been involved in his removal process.
“Kweku Amua-Sekyi mounted a vendetta against some of those involved in handling the charges against him. The NDC, President Rawlings, and I became victims of Kweku Amua-Sekyi’s vengeance. The snake had been left to go free to have the opportunity to kill the second time, if it could,” he wrote.
Based on that experience, Amidu urged President Mahama not to accept any resignation from the Chief Justice while the committee’s inquiry is still ongoing, insisting it would amount to a breach of his presidential oath.
“The snake is already wounded and may next time do more damage to the petitioners should the processes be truncated by an unconstitutional abuse of power by the President in accepting any resignation while the hearing at the Committee is pending. History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes!” he warned.
On April 22, President Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkonoo after a prima facie case was established in three separate petitions seeking her removal.
A five-member committee of inquiry was subsequently formed, following the advice of the Council of State and in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
