Suspended Chief Justice petitions supreme court to recuse two Justices over alleged bias
Suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo has petitioned the Supreme Court to bar two of its justices—Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu from taking part in the proceedings that could lead to her removal from office.
The application, filed on her behalf by former Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, follows allegations that the two justices met privately with a lawyer connected to the matter currently before a committee of inquiry.
The writ names Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, former Auditor-General Daniel Yao Domelevo, Major Flora Bazwaanura Dalugo, and Professor James Sefah Dzisah as defendants/respondents.
According to the motion, Justice Torkornoo is requesting the Supreme Court to restrain the committee, composed of the second to sixth defendants, from continuing any proceedings or actions relating to the inquiry into the three petitions seeking her removal.
Justice Torkornoo is currently facing a petition for her removal and has been suspended by President John Mahama under Article 146 of the Constitution, pending the outcome of the proceedings.
Her latest move signals deepening tensions over the integrity of the ongoing process, as she questions the impartiality of key members of the bench linked to the inquiry.
A copy of the writ published below
Background
Alfred Ababio Kumi has petitioned the President to dissolve the five-member committee tasked with investigating three petitions against the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo.
This follows the establishment of a prima facie case by the President and the Council of State, which led to her suspension pending the inquiry.
In his petition, Kumi alleges that on the evening of Thursday, May 15, 2025 — the day the committee held its first sitting — Supreme Court Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, and Yonny Kulendi were spotted dining with Mr. Thaddeus Sory, counsel for one of the petitioners, at Santoku Restaurant in Accra’s Airport Residential Area, between 7:30pm and 8:30pm.
Kumi argues that the alleged meeting compromises the integrity of the process and warrants the immediate dissolution of the committee.
“The strange meeting of the four persons who are keenly interested in and have played, and indeed continue to play, critical roles initiated in the processes for the removal of the Chief Justice excited the curiosity of some persons in the restaurant. Indeed, they were overheard discussing matters relating to the petition,” the petition read in part. Respectfully, the record of the four – Justices Pwamang, Kulendi [and] Asiedu and lawyer Thaddeus Sory’s – presence at the restaurant and meeting can easily be verified and confirmed.
“The above development is of grave worry as proceedings for the removal of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana are a solemn process and should not lend itself to manipulation by any person or authority. The meeting between Justices Pwamang, Kulendi, and Asiedu with Thaddeus Sory clearly has destroyed the integrity of the process and reduced public confidence in the process so far,” Ababio Kumi’s petition states.Ghanaian food recipes
“Both Justices Asiedu and Pwamang are panel members set up to inquire into the petition. They have no business meeting with counsel for one of the petitioners outside working hours at an unofficial place – a restaurant, to have a discussion. This is more serious when the record shows that Justice Pwamang gave judgments in favour of the same petitioner, Daniel Ofori, represented by the same counsel, Thaddeus Sory, in the Supreme Court.
“Their conduct is deplorable and the most unbecoming of justices occupying the highest court in Ghana. It has the tendency to show that the whole process, quite unfortunately, is a sham. In the interest of preserving the integrity of the process, I hereby petition you for an immediate dissolution of the committee, as its ability to dispense justice is clearly compromised,” the petitioner concludes.
