When the Chairman and members of the Article 146 Commission of Enquiry on the petitions for the removal of Mrs Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo presented what was described as the recommendation report of the first petitioner, many political watchers envisaged the President’s next move.
What the Jubilee House described as a brief ceremony in Accra this morning, has appeared to be “the last burial” of Justice Torkonoo, as Justice Pwamang gleefully handed over an envelope in which simmers her sister’s fate.
The Jubilee House has officially confirmed the removal of the suspended Chief Justice based on the recommendations of the Committee of Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, who also coincidentally assumed the role of interim Chief Justice a couple of weeks ago, upon the official absence of the acting CJ. It appeared to be the perfect chess move.
The Committee says it heard 13 witnesses on behalf of the first petitioner, a Mr. Daniel Ofori, with the Chief Justice testifying and cross-examining 12 witnesses, including experts. The Committee has had to deal with about 10,000 pages of documentary exhibits from both sides and a total of four lawyers altogether.
“After critical and dispassionate examination and assessment of all the evidence, including the expert evidence against the provisions of the Constitution and the relevant laws, we have, without fear or favour, arrived at a recommendation on the first petition,” Justice Pwamang had said, whilst presenting the report earlier this morning.
Despite Justice Pwamang’s quite assuring statement, it is not lost on the country, the suspended chief Justice’s claim of conflict of interest in the case of Justice Pwamang, who had served on the panel of Daniel Ofori v Ecobank Ghana Ltd and two others, a case which primarily formed the subject of the first petition.
Article 146 (9) of The 1992 Constitution fortifies the President to act in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee.
