A Constitutional Theorist and Associate Professor of Law at Ashesi University, ︎Dr. Maame A.S. Mensa-Bonsu, has urged caution in the proceedings surrounding the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
President John Mahama, on September 1, 2025, removed the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office with immediate effect on grounds of stated misbehaviour following recommendations from a constitutional committee set up under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
The decision comes barely hours after the President received the report of a committee constituted under Article 146(6) to inquire into a petition filed by Ghanaian citizen Daniel Ofori. That was only one out of the three petitions.
Madam Mensa-Bonsu warned that even outcomes seen as favourable in such matters can have far-reaching unintended consequences.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 6, she stressed that the appointment and removal of heads of the arms of government are not merely administrative or political processes, but “constitutionally foundational matters” with deep institutional implications.
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“Removing a tumour can save your life,” the professor explained, “but it might also leave you paralysed, or you may have to learn to speak again or learn how to use your arm again.”
Using the analogy of life-saving surgery, she argued that while the intention behind certain constitutional actions, such as removing a sitting Chief Justice, may be justified, the structural and institutional side effects must not be overlooked.
“We should be mindful that even the good outcome in these kinds of foundational matters leaves unintended consequences,” she warned.
“And they have impacts that we should be very mindful about intentionally addressing,” she concluded.
She further added that President Mahama was within his legal right to act promptly on the recommendations of a five-member committee that investigated a petition brought forward by Ghanaian citizen Daniel Ofori.