Sekou Nkrumah, son of Ghana’s first president, has warned that the removal on 1 September of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, raises troubling questions about constitutional breaches and the concentration of power in the presidency.
Speaking on The Last Word on Asaase Radio, Nkrumah said the episode “leaves a bad taste in the mouth of those of us concerned with justice as well as the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers”.
He recalled how in 1963 Kwame Nkrumah, acting under the 1960 constitution, dismissed the then chief justice, Sir Arku Korsah, after a treason trial verdict displeased him – an act which paved the way for the one-party state.
“That was an entirely different constitution. Nkrumah was just too powerful at the time and could literally do what he wished,” Sekou said, stressing that Ghana today operates under a multiparty democratic framework.
Sekou, a former member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), revealed that he had exchanged messages with the ousted chief justice, who denounced the grounds for her removal as “ridiculous” and a product of “political absurd pretence”.
Justice Torkornoo cited per diem allowances, staff transfers and judicial promotions – all within her constitutional authority – as the stated reasons for her dismissal.
“My deepest concern is the breaches of the constitution that the process from beginning to end was subjected to,” Justice Torkornoo wrote to Sekou Nkrumah, warning that if independent bodies can be removed using such manoeuvres, “our democracy is not worth the description”.
“Too much power”
Sekou argued that the removal episode exposes the urgent need for constitutional reform to limit presidential powers.
“There’s just too much power given and it does not sit well in a multiparty system of democracy,” he said, adding that such actions could set a precedent where future governments also remove chief justices for reasons of political convenience.
He cautioned against extending such moves to the chair of the Electoral Commission, who has faced political attacks.
“Any move against the EC boss now will really convince many of us that the NDC is seriously flexing its political muscles. And I wonder where all this is going,” he said.
For Sekou, the lesson is clear: “It is our responsibility to check those in government, put them on their toes and make sure they do the right thing. Moving forward, we might come to regret this removal by the president.
Source: asaaseradio.com
