Fellow Ghanaians – Let the Constitution Speak

Fellow Ghanaians,

In the past week, a cloud of noise has swirled around our republic, some of it coming from outside, cloaked in the language of concern but steeped in condescension, and much of it also rising from within, in voices that paint the suspension of the Chief Justice as though it were a political ambush, a witch-hunt, a hounding of the very head of our judiciary. Both streams of noise are dangerous because both distract from the only thing that matters: the Constitution of Ghana, which is being followed to the letter.

Let us set the record straight. Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution is not a footnote. It is not an advisory clause. It is the supreme law of the land, binding on all, from the humblest clerk to the highest judge. It lays down, with absolute clarity, what must happen when a petition is brought against a Justice of the Superior Courts, the heads of our independent institutions, or the Chief Justice herself. Citizens submit a petition. The Council of State examines it with the President. If it finds a prima facie case, in this case of the Chief Justice, the President has no discretion but to set up a committee. And once that committee is constituted, the President may suspend the officeholder until the matter is concluded. This is a constitutional design.

So when petitions were filed against Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, and when the Council of State found a prima facie case together with the President, the President, acting under Article 146(10)(a), did exactly what the Constitution gives him power to do: he suspended her and allowed the committee to begin its work. That is the law. That is due process. That is judicial independence in action.

Yet, Fellow Ghanaians, instead of patience, instead of respect for process, we hear voices — at home and abroad — declaring that the Chief Justice is being persecuted. Abroad, we hear from the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, who issued a communiqué demanding, not suggesting, not urging, but demanding that Ghana “immediately and without delay” reinstate the Chief Justice. Such imperial arrogance belongs to another century, and it has no place in a republic that has been sovereign since 1957.

But equally troubling are the voices within. Voices that know this Constitution. Voices that know that the Article 146 process has been used before. Voices that now cry “witch-hunt” only because the one in the dock wears the robes of Chief Justice. Let us remind ourselves.

When Loretta Lamptey, the head of the National Commission on Civic Education, had her issues and a petition written against her for misconduct, Article 146 was triggered. A committee was set up, she was suspended, and eventually removed. The law was obeyed. Nobody declared that she was being hounded.

When the Anas investigative exposé captured High Court judges shamelessly collecting goats, yams, and envelopes stuffed with bribes, petitions were filed, Article 146 was activated, committees were set up, and several judges were removed from office. There was public outrage at their conduct, yes, but no one said the process was illegitimate.

When Charlotte Osei, then Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, faced petitions alleging breaches of procurement law and abuse of office, Article 146 was invoked. The Council of State found a prima facie case, a committee investigated, and ultimately removed. The procedure was identical. The debates were heated, but nobody dared to say that the Constitution had been abandoned.

So why, Fellow Ghanaians, when the same Constitution, the same Council of State, another President acting within the same Article 146 process is applied to the Chief Justice, are we suddenly told this is persecution? Why do we pretend that the law is routine for others but extraordinary for her? If anything, the very fact that the highest judicial officer is subject to the same process proves the strength of our democracy. It proves equality before the law. It proves that in Ghana, no one is beyond the reach of the Constitution.
Let us not deceive ourselves. The suspension of a Chief Justice is serious. It is unsettling. It shakes public confidence. But it is not lawless. It is lawful. And if we undermine that process with cries of conspiracy, we do more harm to the judiciary than the petition itself. For what is more damaging to judicial independence — to apply the Constitution as written, or to suggest that certain judges are too sacred to be touched by it?

Fellow Ghanaians, this is not a witch-hunt. This is not a coup against the bench. This is the Constitution doing what Constitutions do: providing lawful means to address lawful petitions. The Chief Justice has lawyers. She has access to the courts. She has already sought redress at the High Court, the Supreme Court, and even the ECOWAS Court of Justice. The committee itself is chaired by a Justice of the Supreme Court. What more evidence of due process do we need?

And so, to those abroad who issue communiqués dripping with colonial arrogance, we say: respect our sovereignty. And to those at home who whip up hysteria about persecution, we say: respect our Constitution. Ghana is not a banana republic. Ghana is not a colony. Ghana is a sovereign republic governed by a Constitution that applies to all.

Let us not be hypocrites. We celebrated when Article 146 removed corrupt judges. We nodded when it removed Loretta Lamptey. We debated but accepted it when it removed Charlotte Osei. We
cannot now pretend that the process is illegitimate simply because it touches the Chief Justice. That would not be the principle. That would be selective outrage.

Fellow Ghanaians, let the Constitution speak. Let the process run its course. Let the committee finish its work. Let the courts decide the applications before them. And when all is said and done, let us accept the outcome, whether reinstatement or removal, as the lawful product of a lawful process.

That is the rule of law. That is sovereignty. That is democracy.

Good morning.

Read More