Former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has escalated her legal battle against the Republic of Ghana following her dismissal, taking her fight to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria.
President John Dramani Mahama removed Torkornoo from office on Monday, September 1, 2025, with immediate effect, following recommendations from a five-member constitutional inquiry committee that investigated petitions against her for stated misbehaviour.
The dismissal marked the end of her tenure as Ghana’s third female Chief Justice, a position she had held since 2023.
The removal followed months of controversy that began when President Mahama suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo on April 22, 2025, after the Council of State established a prima facie case against her.
Her removal was mainly based on a petition dated March 17, 2025, presented by Daniel Ofori on the grounds of misconduct and stated misbehaviour.
However, Torkornoo has not accepted her fate quietly. Prior to her formal removal, she had already challenged her suspension at the regional court.
Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai confirmed that Chief Justice Torkornoo filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Ghana at the ECOWAS Court, alleging that her suspension and the efforts to remove her from office violate her fundamental human rights.
The unprecedented move to seek redress at the ECOWAS Court has sparked intense debate within Ghana’s legal community. The decision by suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo to challenge her removal proceedings at the ECOWAS Court of Justice has sharply divided legal opinion in Ghana.
Reports indicate that Torkornoo is demanding $10 million in compensation as part of her legal challenge.
Legal experts remain split on the prospects of her case. While private legal practitioner Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers has argued that the ECOWAS Court in Abuja has clear jurisdiction to hear the action filed by the former Chief Justice, others are more skeptical.
Legal luminary and former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has cast serious doubts over the prospects of success in any potential legal action involving Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.
The case has also been subject to misinformation, with false claims circulating that the ECOWAS Court has dismissed Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s legal challenge, which fact-checkers have confirmed as completely false.
Torkornoo’s legal strategy represents a rare instance of a dismissed Ghanaian Chief Justice seeking international legal intervention to challenge domestic constitutional processes.
The outcome of her ECOWAS Court challenge could set important precedents for judicial independence and the limits of presidential powers in removing senior judicial officers across West Africa.
As the case proceeds at the regional court, Ghana’s judicial system continues to operate under acting arrangements while the legal battle over one of the country’s most controversial judicial removals in recent history unfolds on the international stage.
Story Written By rince Asante Kwarteng | Kobby Kyei News
