A request for an injunction to stop President John Dramani Mahama from suspending Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo was denied by the Supreme Court.
The court’s five-member panel, chaired by acting Chief Justice Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, rejected the application submitted by legislator Vincent Ekow Assafuah by a majority vote of 3-2.
Judges Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu and Ernest Gaewu dissented, while Justices Baffoe-Bonnie, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, and Tanko Amadu were in the majority.
The court stated that its explanation for the ruling would be complete by May 21 but did not provide it.
The Supreme Court rejected an objection earlier in the day that sought to have Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the acting Chief Justice, removed from the panel hearing an order against Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo’s suspension.
The court’s five-member panel ruled unanimously that the objection was without merit.
The applicant’s attorney, Godfred Yeboah Dame, a former A-G, objected, claiming that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie had a personal stake in the injunction motion since it would impact his position as Acting Chief Justice.
The court ruled, however, that the Acting Chief Justice post was established under Article 144(6) of the Constitution and that the person holding it could not be considered to have a personal interest.
The court ruled, “The objection is unmeritorious and therefore overruled.”
In an attempt to stop Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo’s suspension, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame had objected to Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the acting Chief Justice, preside over the case.
In court today, Mr. Dame, the attorney representing Vincent Assafuah, a legislator contesting the Chief Justice’s suspension, contended that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie should step aside from the five-member panel because he had a stake in the outcome.
Counsel argued that it was in the best interests of justice for Justice Baffoe-Bonnie to be excluded from the panel since the case’s decision could have an impact on the standing of the Acting Chief Justice and the suspended Chief Justice.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie should not be on the panel, Mr. Dame said, since she had taken over all of the Chief Justice’s responsibilities.
He said, “It is crucial that justice be clearly perceived as having been done, rather than just appearing to have been done.”
He mentioned three instances where the Chief Justice’s standing was at issue and claimed that, although having the authority to form panels, the Chief Justice never did.