Former United Nations Governance Advisor Prof Baffour Agyeman-Duah has expressed no surprise about the removal of the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office.
President John Mahama, on Monday, September 1, removed Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office with immediate effect on grounds of stated misbehaviour.
This follows recommendations from a constitutional committee set up under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
“I am not surprised at all at the decision of the president to remove the Chief Justice. I think this is something the party and he himself wanted, and they got it,” Prof Agyeman-Duah stated with conviction on JoyNews AM Show.
The governance expert claimed that the removal was a predetermined outcome, pointing to explicit campaign promises made by the National Democratic Congress.
“If you look at the party, that is the NDC, during the campaign, it was stated publicly not only by the flagbearer, who is now the president, but also by some stalwarts of the party that when they come into power, the Chief Justice will be removed. It was stated clearly,” he explained.
Drawing troubling parallels to Ghana’s political history, Prof Agyeman-Duah highlighted a disturbing pattern of institutional targeting.
“That reminds me of the same situation when the NPP was in opposition, and they, including Akufo-Addo, who was the flagbearer, and some of his stalwarts, also indicated that when they come into power, they will remove the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission,” he said.
The governance expert disclosed that he had warned about this dangerous trajectory before the elections during a high-profile event at the Kempinski Hotel.
“I made a point then, before even the elections, that President Akufo-Addo has set a dangerous precedent by removing Charlotte Osei, and I still stand by that statement that I made. That is what seems to have opened this gateway for chief political actors to begin to work the way they are working with independent institutions,” he said.
Prof Agyeman-Duah indicated that the institutional purge is far from complete.
“Yesterday, we were told that the NDC has not finished yet in terms of its intent to remove, and I guess it will be the Electoral Commissioners. I think a petition has already been sent to the president,” he disclosed.
The former UN advisor warned that Ghana is heading down a dangerous path of politicising independent institutions, undermining public trust in governance.
He used these examples “to create a context for how dangerously we are trending in terms of how our independent institutions ought to be protected,” expressing grave concern about the erosion of institutional independence.
“If the executive decides to attack one, then there is a danger there,” Prof Agyeman-Duah warned, highlighting the existential threat to Ghana’s constitutional separation of powers.
Prof Agyeman-Duah emphasised that protecting key governance institutions from political interference is crucial for maintaining public confidence.
“In order to have trust, we don’t have to politicise certain key institutions of governance so that the people can continuously have trust and confidence in the role that they play in the democracy,” he stressed.
Prof Agyeman-Duah stressed that while the move was expected, it raises serious concerns about the balance of powers in Ghana’s governance architecture.
“I am looking at the replications, how this really affects the balance of power amongst the three key institutions of governance, the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature, and the independence that they are supposed to have in order to ensure effective checks and balances,” he explained.
Prof Agyeman-Duah stressed that while his overarching concern transcends individual cases, his focus remains firmly fixed on “the institutions that we must protect to ensure effective administration of our democratic system.”
Prof Agyeman-Duah concluded, “I wasn’t surprised at all.”