Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) legal team, Abraham Amaliba noted on TV3’s Key Points that the former Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, initially pursued peaceful retirement benefits from the Presidency before she later disrupted the process by going to ECOWAS Court.
Speaking during the political program on Saturday September 6, he stated that two imminent Ghanaians approached the President to let Justice Torkonoo retire peacefully but the legal head of Ghana’s Judiciary sought counsel elsewhere and opted to fight the nation on her own terms.
He referenced the decision made by Chief Justice Theodora Georgina Wood during her appointment to educate herself for her role, thereby avoiding errors and maintaining the integrity of the Chief Justice’s office. This serves as a clear example from which Justice Torkonoo could have learned and applied, potentially sparing her from significant public scrutiny that culminated in her dismissal.
“The sins of Torkornoo are so pronounced that we should learn from her predicament. Paying per diem to your husband and daughter is not a behaviour we should promote. In some countries, such behavior comes with severe punishment”, he said.
He said that Torkornoo’s behavior was inconsistent with the expectations of a Chief Justice and that her dismissal is not an attack on the Judiciary.
He cited instances such as the adjudication of Afenyo-Markin’s case against the Speaker of Parliament and the birth certificate issue as evidence of decisions made by the former Chief Justice that exemplified an abuse of power, which the majority of Ghanaians opposed and criticized even prior to the petition that ultimately led to her removal from office.
Weighing in on former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo’s assertion on the Presidency’s failure to provide a fair trial for Justice Torkonoo, Abraham Amaliba characterized her comments as an afterthought and an expression of sympathy for her colleague.
