Deputy Education Minister and Builsa South MP, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has slammed what he calls veiled threats from the Bar Council of England and Wales (BCEW) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) over Ghana’s suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
The Associations have demanded the immediate reversal of the suspension of the Chief Justice by President John Dramani Mahama.
Describing their intervention as a ‘colonialist-induced insult,’ Dr. Apaak cautioned that Ghanaians would not tolerate external meddling in the country’s judicial affairs.
Also Read: Clerk to Parliament tasks African legislatures to harness technology to deepen democracy
“You cannot order our President to ‘immediately and without delay reinstate the Chief Justice of Ghana.’ Such impudence!” he fired in a strongly-worded statement, insisting that President John Dramani Mahama is accountable only to the Constitution and people of Ghana — not foreign legal associations.
“Ghana is not a banana republic,” he stressed.
Dr. Apaak accused the UK-based groups of acting on misinformation from unnamed collaborators seeking to tarnish Ghana’s leadership. He urged them to withdraw their baseless demands and apologise.
He defended the April 22 suspension of the Chief Justice as a constitutional act triggered by three petitions alleging misconduct and incompetence. A prima facie case was established by the Council of State, prompting the President to set up a five-member inquiry panel led by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang. Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie currently serves as Acting Chief Justice.
The BCEW and CLA, however, claim the action breaches Latimer House Principles and warn that it threatens judicial independence. They criticised reported restrictions on the Chief Justice’s legal team and raised concerns over witness treatment.
Justice Torkornoo, who has refused to resign, is challenging the suspension at the ECOWAS Court, calling it arbitrary and unconstitutional — teeing up what experts predict could be a defining test of Ghana’s constitutional order and its relationship with international oversight.