The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has dismissed speculation that government is scheming to remove suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Tuesday, August 26, he insisted that the executive has taken no such steps and is simply carrying out its constitutional duties.

“The executive has done nothing about the removal of the Chief Justice,” he declared.

“If anything at all, the executive is only upholding the constitution. So, to my mind, the government has not acted in any way to remove her.”

His rebuttal comes amid heightened public debate over alleged tensions between the judiciary and the executive.

Critics have claimed that recent political actions amount to an attack on judicial independence—a charge Nketiah firmly rejected.

“The judiciary is not under attack. What is happening is reform. If there is a problem with the judiciary, then the judiciary must be reformed to carry out its constitutional duties,” he explained.

Nketiah stressed that institutional reform is crucial for strengthening democracy, adding that all arms of government must function within their constitutional mandates.

Background

On April 22, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo after a prima facie case was established on three petitions alleging misconduct and incompetence.

He subsequently formed a five-member inquiry panel led by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang to investigate the matter.

Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the most senior Supreme Court judge, was named Acting Chief Justice.

The suspension sparked uproar. The Ghana Bar Association branded the move unconstitutional, arguing that Mahama failed to publish the required constitutional instrument under Article 296.

The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) also condemned the decision, citing political bias in the committee’s composition.

Chief Justice Torkornoo has refused to resign, describing the process as “arbitrary” and “cruel,” while the NPP warned that the suspension threatens Ghana’s democratic integrity.