Presidential Spokesperson and Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has dismissed claims that the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo is linked to efforts at “resetting the Judiciary.”
Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, he clarified that the concept of resetting the Judiciary had been misunderstood.
“It has nothing to do with setting the Judiciary. Resetting the Judiciary simply means that we demand that fairness and balance prevail in the way that the Judiciary does its work. That’s all it’s about,” Kwakye Ofosu explained.
He stressed that the President had no power to arbitrarily remove judges.
“The President cannot go and physically purport to be resetting the Judiciary by removing judges. This is a victory for the rule of law,” he said.
Expounding further, Kwakye Ofosu emphasised the principle of equality before the law, insisting that it applied to everyone regardless of status.
“The fundamental principle of the rule of law, the reason why the rule of law must be adhered to, is that all of us are equal before the law. If I violate Ghanaian law, irrespective of our standing in society, we must be dealt with according to the details of the law. Any society that is unable to do that cannot call itself a society governed by the rule of law,” he stated.
He also rejected suggestions that the Chief Justice should not have been removed due to the significance of her office.
“I get the impression that people are considering the significance of the office of the CJ and are therefore saying that irrespective of the availability of wrongdoing, if constitutional provisions are followed to arrive at a determination that she should be removed, she should not be removed, simply because she is a CJ. We cannot do that,” he added.