The National Publicity Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared that the Chief Justice will be impeached at the appropriate time.
Sammy Gyamfi said the actions of Gertrude Alaba Turkono in selecting some of the Supreme Court judges were “selfish”.
He told Evans Mensah on Joy News’ PM Express that the Chief Justice had erred and her actions were not in the interest of the country.
“Regarding the unconstitutional and unlawful request made by the Chief Justice to the President, she knew what she did was wrong and so she kept it secret.
“The fact that she has gone beyond calling for more justices on the Supreme Court to actually getting to the point where the president is deciding who to appoint means that this chief justice has a timetable that will favor people she thinks she can work with on the Supreme Court,” he said Monday.
In a letter dated May 30, 2024 addressed to President Nana Akufo-Addo, the Chief Justice recommended the appointment of five judges to the Supreme Court.The recommended judges include Justice Angelina Mensah Homia, Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, Justice Edward Amoako Asanti, Justice Saira Pamela CA Koranteng and Justice Afia Asare Botwe.
On Thursday, July 4, the NDC accused the President and the Chief Justice of conspiring to shield government officials from accountability after their term ends. The opposition party alleged that the Judicial Council’s unanimous opposition to the move to elevate the five judges to the Supreme Court was covertly ignored by the Chief Justice and the President.
NDC Secretary General Fifi Kwetey expressed concern over the appointment of the five new judges, describing them as unfair and calling for the decision to be challenged. He stressed the need for transparency and fairness in the judicial appointment process, stressing that the party is concerned about potential bias.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Majority Whip Alex Afenyo-Markin defended the Chief Justice’s proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 20. He maintained that the proposal was within the legal bounds, stressing that the Chief Justice’s proposal did not violate any law.
However, NDC spokespersons are calling for her head.
“This is a clear ground for resignation, a proper ground to remove her from office and the Constitution is clear so it says that the proper process will be initiated at the appropriate time.”
“The Chief Justice has no power to tell the President of the Republic who to appoint as Supreme Court justices,” he said.
He said the judges on the Court of Appeal that the Chief Justice is proposing to the President do not work anywhere else.
“We all know them and the contributions they have made to the development of the law. We know their abilities, but they are not the only competent people on the Court of Appeal. There are much more senior judges on the Court of Appeal.”
“On what basis would the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court name the president when there are equally competent people, if not more competent people? I don’t want to name some of the justices, but it would create problems,” he said.
On the right time for impeachment, Gyamfi said, “I am referring to when we have a president who believes in the constitution and will address these petitions.”
“We currently have a president who responds to petitions depending on the content of the petition. So sometimes he chooses to take a stand. Sometimes he doesn’t want to. If we send a petition to such a president, we will clearly see that he himself is an accomplice in this problem.”
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