Torkornoo: I’ve been threatened with harm to step down as Chief Justice

Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has revealed that she has received threats aimed at forcing her to step down from office, amid an ongoing inquiry into petitions seeking her removal.

In an address to journalists in Accra on Wednesday June 25, Justice Torkornoo disclosed that some individuals have attempted to coerce her into resigning or retiring voluntarily by threatening her with personal harm.

“I have also received threats to the effect that if I failed to resign or retire voluntarily, I will be made to suffer some harm or the other,” she said.

Torkornoo also criticised the ongoing proceedings by the committee of inquiry probing petitions seeking her removal, suggesting the process is being handled more like adversarial courtroom litigation instead of a neutral fact-finding exercise.

She expressed concerns about the manner in which evidence is being presented and indicated that the legal representatives for the petitioners are exercising undue control over the information shared before the committee.

This, she contends, undermines the neutrality required in such inquiries and violates established protocols.

Torkornoo noted “The proceedings are being conducted as if it is a normal litigation between the petitioners and myself. Their lawyers now choose and pick which part of the evidence that public officials present to put on the table.”

Adding “This is also in violation of known rules regarding the proceedings of a committee of enquiry.”