Minority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has declared that the New Patriotic Party will restore former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo to the highest judicial office in the country if the party succeeds in regaining political power.
Mr Afenyo Markin made the assertion during an interview with Accra based Atinka Television, where he maintained that the termination of Justice Torkornoo’s tenure was fundamentally unjust and that an NPP administration would take steps to reverse the decision. His latest remarks reinforce a position he has previously expressed publicly concerning the former Chief Justice’s removal.
The Minority Leader also launched a strong criticism of the circumstances surrounding Justice Torkornoo’s departure from office, alleging that her removal was connected to what he characterised as a broader conspiracy involving elements within the Supreme Court.
In making the allegation, Mr Afenyo Markin specifically referred to the current Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, whom he accused of having played a role in the circumstances that culminated in the removal of his predecessor. The allegation has intensified the political debate surrounding the judiciary and the events that led to the change in its leadership.
Mr Afenyo Markin insisted that the circumstances surrounding Justice Torkornoo’s removal would eventually become clearer, arguing that the full account of what transpired would one day be known. He maintained that, from the NPP’s perspective, the former Chief Justice suffered an injustice and therefore deserved to be returned to the position she previously occupied.
The Minority Leader’s position represents a continuation of the NPP’s criticism of the process that resulted in Justice Torkornoo’s removal. The party has repeatedly challenged the justification and circumstances surrounding the decision, with Afenyo Markin previously assuring the former Chief Justice that she would be restored if the NPP returned to government under its next administration.
Justice Torkornoo was appointed Chief Justice in June 2023 during the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. Her subsequent removal became one of the most contentious constitutional and political issues involving Ghana’s judiciary, generating intense debate over the procedure followed and the reasons advanced for terminating her tenure.
The controversy has remained a significant issue for the NPP, particularly as the party has positioned the protection of judicial independence and institutional integrity as central themes in its criticism of the government’s handling of the judiciary.
Mr Afenyo Markin’s latest declaration therefore goes beyond expressing disagreement with the former Chief Justice’s removal. It signals the possibility of a substantive reversal of the current judicial leadership arrangement should the NPP regain control of the executive branch.
His comments also introduce a potentially significant constitutional and institutional question concerning the circumstances under which a future government could seek to restore a former Chief Justice to office. The political commitment expressed by the Minority Leader is consequently likely to sustain further discussion about judicial independence, constitutional procedure and the relationship between political authority and the judiciary.
For now, however, the NPP’s position remains clear in the public statements of its Minority Leader: should the party return to power, it intends to revisit Justice Torkornoo’s removal and seek her restoration as Chief Justice.
