Court Blocks Suspended Chief Justice's Attempt to Quash Impeachment Proceedings
Accra, Ghana – 31 July, 2025 – The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court has dismissed a judicial review application filed by suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, citing abuse of court process and lack of jurisdiction. The ruling, delivered by Justice Kwame Amoako on July 31, 2025, marks the collapse of a second legal challenge by Torkonoo over the ongoing proceedings for her potential removal from office.
The suspended Chief Justice had filed a judicial review application seeking nine reliefs, including declarations that the Article 146 committee investigating her had acted unlawfully. Torkonoo requested the court to quash the committee's proceedings and prohibit it from continuing without providing authenticated copies of the petitions and responses.
Justice Amoako categorized the reliefs into two groups: those dismissed as an abuse of court process and those dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The court found that several claims were already before the Supreme Court in a constitutional interpretation case, making the High Court application duplicative litigation. These claims included allegations of unlawful proceedings due to lack of authenticated petitions and responses ,requests to prohibit the committee from continuing its work without authenticated documents ,claims of wrongful adversarial proceedings and allegations of unlawful committee composition.
The remaining reliefs were struck out on jurisdictional grounds, including requests to nullify the committee's sittings and allegations of procedural breaches.
This ruling follows an earlier dismissal of an injunction application by the Supreme Court, which sought to halt the impeachment proceedings. The High Court's decision signals that procedural challenges cannot be used to circumvent or indefinitely delay the investigative mechanism laid out in the Constitution.
Gertrude Torkonoo was suspended in April 2025 after President John Mahama established a prima facie case against her in three petitions. A committee has been set up to investigate the claims against her under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
Source: Lead News Online/Jemima Boakye
