She might be nineteen or so, during the Student Task-Force days of 1982. Full of infectious smiles, laughter and very witty with jokes, dropping out from her lips, at the least ‘provocation.’ No one could feel bored with Getrude Sackey around.
I quite remember one day I went for a hair-cut at the Kingsway Stores and unfortunately the haircut did not look well. Trudy, looked at me and exclaimed asking which barber did me such injustice. Thinking that I would mention some way side barbering shop, she just looked at me, very surprised when I mentioned the high-class place, Kingsway, and said, “Look at where your petty bourgeoise instincts landed you.” It brought out a great laughter.
The last time I met her was around the Marina Mall, Airport. We exchanged pleasantries and in her usual cheerful mood, she told me the truth about a relationship I got myself into during those campus days.
I was aware that a certain Getrude Torkonoo was appointed Supreme Court judge in 2019 and she became Chief Justice in 2020. I saw the pictures of the new CJ and only said, the era of female CJs has dawned on us.
It was not until last year, in the UK, that my attention was drawn to the fact that the Lady Chief Justice of Ghana is my friend, Getrude Sackey. I praised God for His love and mercies.
Trudy, as we used to call her, and the Supreme Court, started coming out with judgments which drew displeasure from the then opposition NDC. Well, judgments are the opinion of judges, however because of rule of law and democracy, their opinions are imposed on us, and some people would welcome them while others will be in complete disagreement.
In all this, we only have to accept them or challenge them in higher courts. In the case of the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, the opinion of the judges can only be reviewed.
In Ghana, the Socialists and Nkrumaists are the only class of Ghanaians who would severely condemn verdicts that go against them. And history has a story to tell.
In December 1963, the first Ghanaian chief justice, Sir Arku Korsah, with his panel of Supreme Court Justices, which included Edward Akufo-Addo and William Van Lare, cleared three top CPP members, Ako Adjei, Amartefio and Crabbe of, any wrong doing in the Kulungugu bombing case.
The following day, an angry Nkrumah rushed a bill through Parliament which gave him the power to dismiss judges and order re-trial. Two days after the ruling, Sir ArkuKorsah and the others were dismissed from the bench.
Today, another Chief Justice has been suspended with the aim to have her dismissed. Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution is on the Removal of Justices of Superior Courts and Chairmen of Regional Tribunals. And it clearly states in 146 (1) that:A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of Body or mind.
Now which of these did Her Ladyship violate? The grounds of the petitions were based on stated misbehavior and incompetence with nothing on the grounds of inability, because the Lady Chief Justice, is healthy and strong.
One petitioner, Kingsley Agyei, petitioned on the grounds of misbehaviour, citing that the Lady Chief Justice, on May 30, 2025, wrote to the then president, H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo that five Appeal Court justices should be promoted to the Supreme Court. To him that violated Art. 144, which does not give powers to the Chief Justice to appoint any one unto the Supreme Court.
This according to some legal luminaries was wrong but she could only be cautioned. Well, I do not understand why a Chief Justice cannot advise the President on who to promote on the bench. But who am I? The only moments I came close to assuming myself a lawyer, were my three-year Latin classes in secondary school and the little bit of Commercial and Company Law I studied in Business School.
On the issue of incompetence, the petitioner drew our attention to Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey’s handling of the Afenyo Markin v Speaker of Parliament and Attorney General case when the court she presided over, in a ruling on November 12, 2025, made pronouncement which to him showed she was very incompetent. She was said to have breached the rules of natural justice.
Then comes Daniel Ofori, who listed twenty-one points of misbehaviors on the partof the Chief Justice and gave four instances of the Chief Justice’s appointment of sitting judges to administrative positions as acts of incompetence.
And next comes ACP Ayamga Yakubu Akolgo, whose beef was on misconduct of the Chief Justice, centered on alleged disrespectful comments she made about him after delivering judgment. It is being alleged that Akolgo put up a rude behavior in court and had to talked down by the justices. He took offence and so the CJ must go.
There two other petitions against the Chief Justice but are yet to be made public.
Anyway, looking at all these petitions, I can only conclude that if these are reasonable causes to dismiss justices from the Supreme Court, then there are at least two opportunities that the NPP governments of Presidents Kufuor and Nana Addo had, but failed to take them.
On December 21, 1993, the opposition NPP petitioned the Supreme Court to halt the NDC government from celebrating the 31st December Revolution. Five justices were paneled to sit on the case. They were, Justices, Adade, Abban, Amua-Sekyi, Aikins and Ampiah. The NPP won the case by a majority decision with Justice Isaac Abban having a diverse opinion.
It was later found out by a columnist, Mr. Mensa Bonsu, that Justice Abban falsified his verdict by wrongly attributing a publication in the Daily Graphic to Prime Minister K.A. Busia. He requested for a certified copy of the judgment and his fears were confirmed on Page 28.
He then published in the Free Press, that “Justice Abban is a Liar” after notifying the judge about that unpardonable act. Chief Justice Archer sent a certified copy of the verdict to Mensa Bonsu, but unfortunately it was doctored. Publications that followed this scandal took space in the media landscape. Mensa Bonsu was taken to court for committing criminal libel and even though his case was watertight, he was sentenced to jail for one month. Justice Bamford Addo who was on the panel, told Ghanaians that, in matters of criminal libel, the truth does not matter.
On February 22, 1965, the day after the ruling, Justice Isaac Abban, who could falsify judgments, was awarded the position of Chief Justice,by H.E. Jerry Rawlings.
To those raising issues with Her Ladyship Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, what would they say about Justice Abban? Here was a judge who could falsify judgments, surely violating Art. 146.
President Kufuor took office in January 2001 and could have entertained petitions to remove Justice Abban from office, but he did not even look to that direction and the Chief Justice resigned from office on health grounds in April 2001.
In 2013, the then flag bearer of the NPP, H.E. Nana Akufo Addo, petitioned the Supreme Court on what he saw as rigging of the 2012 Elections.
In giving the ruling, in August 2013, the lead judge, Justice Atuguba began by informing Ghanaians that in no African nation was election petitions ruled in favour of the opposition party. Implying Ghanaians should not expect anything different. That alone called for concern. Then with more than empirical and watertight evidence by the plaintiff, that an important clause in the 1992 Constitution regarding elections, Art. 49 (3), was violated, Justice Atuguba, by implication added that this law did not matter in the case, and pronounced judgment in favor of President John Mahama.
Art. 49 (3) makes it mandatory that after the close of polls and collation is done at the polling stations, the presiding officer shall sign the declaration form and announce the results. Thousands of presiding officers did not comply with this. Yet, this experienced judge, then with sixteen years on the Supreme Court, thought it was nothing to worry one’s head about.
This singular act which threw law classes into confusion, violated Art. 146, and yet when H.E. Nana Addo took over as president in 2017, he did not bother himself with this, and Justice Atuguba remained on the Supreme Court for almost eighteen more months.
Comparing charges against Her Ladyship Getrude Torkonoo with the misbehaviour and incompetence, clearly displayed by Chief Justice Isaac Abban and Justice William Atuguba, one would declare the Ladyship, innocent.
In 1963, a seasoned and renowned Chief Justice, Justice Sir ArkuKorsah and two others were dismissed from the bench for ruling in favour of CPP gurus. In 2025, our third female Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkonoo’s fate is hanging as attempts are being made to dismiss her from the bench. Well, perhaps, this is in line with socialists and Nkrumaists agenda, and I think, I may be wrong though, that maybe they do have some petty bourgeoise instincts.
Hon. Daniel Dugan
