Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo is unable to accede to the request by the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) to remove Justice Edward Twum from the trial of former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah as well as all its cases pending before him.

This, according to the OSP, is contained in a letter dated October 25, from the Judicial Secretary.

“By a letter dated 25 October 2023, the Judicial Secretary informed The Special Prosecutor that, the Chief Justice is unable to accede to the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) request for His Lordship Justice Edward Twum to be recused and removed from all cases involving the OSP pending before him,” the OSP indicated in a Facebook post on Wednesday, October 25.

On October 12, the OSP petitioned the Chief Justice to remove Justice Edward Twum from Cecilia Dapaah's case. 

Also read: https://www.myjoyonline.com/cecilia-dapaah-case-osp-petitions-chief-justice-to-remove-trial-judge/

This, the OSP explained, is because the judge appears to be prejudiced against the institution. 

The Office therefore requested Gertrude Torkornoo to have him recuse himself or remove him from all its cases pending before him.

It added it will not appear in court to prosecute the case until the judge is changed. 

“Consequently, as it stands, the OSP would not and cannot be reasonably expected to be parties to proceedings before the said judge,” the social media post said. 

Also read: https://www.myjoyonline.com/cecilia-dapaah-case-osps-petition-asking-chief-justice-to-change-judge-withdrawn/

However, during the proceedings on October 18, the presiding judge, Justice Edward Twum, announced the purported withdrawal of the matter by the OSP.

Read more: https://www.myjoyonline.com/we-havent-withdrawn-request-to-replace-judge-in-cecilia-dapaah-case-osp/

But in a post on X (Twitter), the Office denied withdrawing the petition.

"The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), has not withdrawn its request to the Chief Justice for the recusal and removal of his Lordship Justice Edward Twum from all cases pending before him involving the OSP," the tweet read.