Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has attributed former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s inability to be reinstated to her confrontational approach during the removal process.
Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, he said her conduct worsened her case.
“The CJ did not give herself any chance to be heard appropriately. The confrontational attitude she took made it impossible for her to resume her official duties. She was so abrasive, taking the government here and there, going to ECOWAS,” he explained.
Ansa-Asare added that the matter was constitutional and required cooperation rather than resistance.
“This simple constitutional matter needed cooperation with the committee so that, at the end of the day, we would all be living witnesses to whether there was any merit in the petitions,” he said.
He stressed that if the Chief Justice herself did not understand the laid-down processes, it undermined her claims of rights violations.
“If you allege that your constitutional rights are being violated, and you, as head of the judiciary, do not understand the ramifications of the Chief Justice removal process, you shoot yourself in the foot,” Ansa-Asare asserted.
He further noted that the constitutional provisions had been followed, leaving no reason for disappointment.
“I don’t think we should be sad about it; we should be happy that the constitution is working. This is a democracy, and if the President has to act, every step he takes must be in accordance with the constitution. So far, I am yet to be convinced that the President contravened constitutional processes,” he added.
President John Mahama on Monday, September 1, removed Mrs. Torkornoo from office with immediate effect on grounds of stated misbehaviour, following recommendations from a constitutional committee set up under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution. The committee’s inquiry was in response to a petition filed by citizen Daniel Ofori, one of three petitions submitted.
Source: Clara Seshie
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