The NDC’s Judicial Vendetta: A Threat to Ghana’s Rule of Law

Ghana’s serving Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, has undoubtedly been under attack both as a Supreme Court judge and as the head of the third arm of government (The Judiciary) nearly two years after she was nominated for the high office of Chief Justice, approved by the by-partisan appointments committee of Parliament and by Parliament itself and sworn by the President as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, elements within the National Democratic Congress (NDC), including the National Chairman of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and then candidate John Mahama, disclosed their intentions to cause her removal from office should NDC win the 2024 elections and thereafter, constitute the next government.

True to their word, a little over 100 days in office, the John Dramani Mahama-led administration, on the strength of some five petitions served on the President, kicked started their “Chief Justice Removal Agenda,” which has led to the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo from office as of Tuesday, 22 April 2025.

Perhaps, what is even more disturbing is the recent disclosure that Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo is directly related to the late Major Sam Acquah (Rtd), a senior military officer who was murdered together with three Superior Court Justices in 1982.

Indeed, Major Sam Acquah (Rtd) was a direct uncle to Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo. At the time of his abduction and subsequent murder, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo was living with her uncle. On the day of his abduction, Justice Torkornoo is said to have been home with her uncle when unknown armed men beset their home and forcefully took her uncle away.

By way of background, on June 30, 1982, Justices Fred Poku Sarkodee, Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, and Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, together with Major Rtd Sam Acquah, a retired Army Officer, were abducted by unidentified assailants and murdered in cold blood. This sad incident occurred during the hours of a night-time curfew at the Bundase Military Shooting Range in the Accra Plains.

For the past 43 years, the Bench and Bar have adopted June 30 every year to acknowledge the good deeds of these Martyrs of the rule of law. On this day, a remembrance service is held in their honour. This is mostly preceded by a wreath-laying ceremony near their busts, which have been raised at the forecourt of the Supreme Court of Ghana in Accra.

Based on the negative energy directed at the Chief Justice ahead of the 2024 elections and after the NDC took office, there are serious concerns about the possibility of history repeating itself under the current NDC regime, as happened in 1982 under the administration of the NDC’s founder and former President, Jerry John Rawlings, of blessed memory.

The NDC’s track record regarding the safety of judges and the independence of the judiciary is a matter of public record. This record, coupled with the current NDC administration’s recent actions and inactions towards the third arm of government, has heightened concerns for the safety of the Chief Justice and all other Justices in the country.

What is even more troubling is that the five-member committee probing the petitions brought against Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has chosen to conduct its hearing at the Adu lodge, a national security property located along the Castle Road in Accra.

History tells us that the lodge was used as a venue for most of the meetings that were held by persons who have been found to have played various roles towards the planning and execution of the mission to kill Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s late uncle, Major Sam Acquah (Rtd), and the three High Court Justices, Fred Poku Sarkodee, Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, and Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong in 1982.

The choice of the Adu Lodge as the venue for the Justice Gabriel Pwamang-led committee hearings obviously raises concerns about the entire process. The judicial service has several properties and locations that could have been used for this purpose. Thus, the question, “Why Adu Lodge? ” is a critical one, and it cannot be brushed away.

The events of 1982, the political rhetoric of the NDC ahead of the 2024 elections, the five petitions filed against the Chief Justice, and the persons behind the petitions, the issues raised in the said petitions, the answers provided by the Chief Justice to the petitions, the supposed prima facie case established by the President together with the Council of State, the suspension of the Chief Justice, the committee appointed by the President to probe the matter, the legal representation of the petitioners and the venue for the hearing all summed up, raises issues of grave concern which cannot be overlooked.

Well-meaning Ghanaians and believers in the rule of law and constitutionalism must address these developments in our democratic space and point out all abuses and interference in our country’s judicial affairs to prevent history from repeating itself.