Michael Donyina Mensah, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), believes the suspended Chief Justice does not deserve to be reinstated.
He says an attempt to do so would harm the judiciary.
Mr Mensah claims that if she returns to her position, she will victimise judicial staff, which is why she needs to remain suspended.
He made these remarks in response to a statement from the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.
The two bodies have asked President John Dramani Mahama and the executive branch of government to immediately reinstate the suspended Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
The two legal groups believe that Ghana, as a nation with a strong tradition of upholding the rule of law, should not undermine the suspended Chief Justice’s fundamental rights. They raised serious concerns over her suspension on April 22, 2025.
But Donyina Mensah stated that the two bodies had no standing to make such a demand of a sovereign state like Ghana, which has laws enshrined in its constitution.
“In fact, this is a condemnable statement from the two bodies,” Mensah said. “First of all, they have every right to react or comment on the issue. However, they cannot tell a sovereign state like Ghana to reinstate a suspended Chief Justice with immediate effect. We have Parliament, the Constitution of Ghana, and other institutions that did not comment on the matter, so what makes them think they can issue a statement demanding the Chief Justice’s reinstatement?”
He challenged them to point to just one law that President Mahama has broken since the removal process began.
“If they can point to a single law breached, we will support their call for Justice Torkornoo’s reinstatement.”
He continued, “Are they telling us a Chief Justice can never be removed from office? The framers of the Constitution knew a day like this would happen, and that is why they created this provision or clause.”
Appearing on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he asserted that Madam Torkornoo’s desperation and her actions after the suspension give credibility to the fact that she didn’t even deserve to be there.
Donyina Mensah said Madam Torkornoo has refused to respond to the legal provisions that guide the removal process. Instead, she has focused on peripheral issues that rely on emotion and intangible points to defend herself.
“The critical point is that we all know what has happened. “I have no sympathy for her,” he said. “She first claimed she was being removed because she is a woman, then she later jumped to alleging that those who petitioned the president had not registered their organisation. She is not acting within the law because she knows President Mahama has followed the law to the letter. I don’t think she will resume her position because she incited her colleagues to rally behind her, but she received no response. Imagine if she were asked to resume work and the possibility of her victimising her colleagues. It would be better for her to be removed from office than to resume work. If she returns, the damage she would cause would be worse than in the past because she will bring in a personal vendetta since she has made it clear that she has personal scores to settle with some people in the Ghanaian legal system.”
He told host Kwabena Agyapong that the suspended Chief Justice would have more dignity if she walked away than if she struggled within the system.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
