Dear Ms Sophia Akuffo,
I have read with deep concern recent news reports suggesting that the process for the removal of Justice Araba Torkornoo is “unfair.” While I respect your past service to the judiciary, I find your position on this matter both inconsistent and troubling.
Let me ask plainly: Is the application of the law in Ghana truly fair? If your answer is yes, then kindly explain the logic behind this glaring contradiction: how is it that individuals who made critical comments about the judiciary on the radio were handed four-month prison terms and fined GHS 30, while others who physically invaded a courtroom were let off with a mere GHS 1,800 fine? If the law is blind, should justice not be applied evenly?
Let us also not forget the people of Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL), who were shamefully denied parliamentary representation for an entire four-year term. Yet, when by-elections were due in Suhum, Amenfi Central, or Agona Swedru, the system acted with speed, urgency, and precision. Is this the “fairness” you defend?
Madam, with all due respect, your current stance borders on rogue behaviour, unbecoming of someone who once occupied the highest judicial office in our land. Are you now suggesting that you alone possess greater wisdom than the other respected members of the Council of State? Ghana’s constitutional democracy is based on majoritarianism—majority rule—not individual moral grandstanding.
What’s even more disheartening is that these remarks come from a woman once hailed for upholding the independence of the Bench—a Bench that became a reference point for assessing judicial conduct in the 2020 election petition. Many of us once looked up to you as a symbol of reason and restraint. Today, you seem to be working against the very processes you swore to uphold.
At the end of the day, a prima facie case has been established by the very body empowered to do so under Article 146 of our Constitution. That is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of constitutional process. And unless we are now picking and choosing which parts of the Constitution we obey, this matter must proceed according to law.
Let us uphold the Constitution—not nostalgia, not selective memory, and certainly not self-righteous sentiment.
Yours in democratic vigilance,
