Private legal practitioner, Thaddeus Sory, says Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin was one of the reasons his client petitioned for the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkonoo.
He says the petition cited a major count that mentioned the Minority Leader and the acts that formed the basis of their case.
According to him, the Effutu MP had set a record in court by becoming the only person who, within two hours, secured a full Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Torkonoo to grant him orders that no court in any common law jurisdiction would give under the scope of the application he filed.
Mr Sory said the conduct of the Minority Leader not only created concerns for the nominee, but it also affected Justice Gabriel Pwamang, who chaired the committee that recommended the removal of the then Chief Justice.
He said the treatment of the senior justice was part of the problem. He believes Justice Pwamang’s own report created further issues and says he has made that point before.
According to Mr Sory, the matters became clearer during the proceedings.
He recalled people who knew both Mr Afenyo-Markin and Justice Torkonoo speaking to him.
He said they asked him why he did not understand that “that is his sister.”
When asked by KSM what that meant, Mr Sory said he was told they came from the same place.
The lawyer said he was also told that when the former Chief Justice’s father died, the Minority Leader hosted her visitors, and people who were present informed him.
Mr Sory says that if he had appeared at the next sitting, he would have raised his next objection against the former Chief Justice herself.
He said he would have told her that all the arguments and the descent into conflict were happening because someone close to her was the plaintiff [Afenyo-Markin] in the matter.
Thaddues Sory said new information now suggests that services within the Judicial Service are linked to the Minority Leader.
According to him, Mr Afenyo-Markin is rendering those services and gaining commercial profit from them, adding that the profits are huge.
The lawyer said this is why the Minority Leader is trying to make the nomination process of the now Chief Justice Baffoe Bonnie look like a matter of public interest and a national dispute.
He, however, insists it has nothing to do with any minority position.
Mr Sory says the Minority Leader sold this narrative to his colleagues to convince them to take a collective stand.
He said the facts show Mr Afenyo-Markin has a personal interest in the Chief Justice, which is why he is “crying louder than every other person.”
“And so the facts that we have show that you have an interest in her being there,” he stated.
Mr Sory also questions the entire format of the approval process, advising that Parliament reconsiders the idea of prior approval.
He argues that the Constitution did not say “vetting” but said “prior approval of Parliament.”
Thaddaues Sory said there should be another method where Parliament reviews a nominee’s CV and background checks.
He believes vetting should only happen when specific areas require clarification; otherwise, Parliament should use acclamation.
Mr Sory said if the appointee fails to deliver, the appointing authority can remove them.
According to him, the current format holds people hostage to a long and unnecessary process, and the country is forced to sit and watch a process where “95% of it is a joke.”