Letting CJ resign now undermines justice – Martin Amidu fires

Martin Amidu has warned President John Dramani Mahama. He cautioned against accepting Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo's resignation. This would breach the President's constitutional oath and obstruct justice.

Amidu, a former Special Prosecutor and Attorney General, argued that accepting her resignation would harm citizens' rights. It would prevent them from pursuing petitions against justices of the superior court. This action would defeat the purpose of Article 146’s accountability framework.

He wrote in an opinion piece that the President should not accept her resignation after a prima facie case is established. Doing so would abuse his oath of office and obstruct citizen petitioners' rights. “What is good for the goose is good for the gander!” he stated.

Amidu recalled a rare case from 1998 involving Justice Kweku Etrew Amua-Sekyi. His resignation was accepted after a prima facie case was established against him. Amidu opposed that decision at the time.

He explained that Chief Justice Philip Archer had determined a prima facie case based on a petition by Justice Isaac Kobina Abban. A committee chaired by Justice Acquah was formed to investigate, and the docket went to the Attorney-General’s Office.

Before this process could proceed, Justice Amua-Sekyi resigned. Amidu expressed strong opposition to this move.

“When I learned of his resignation, I told the Judicial Secretary,” he said. “When you wound a snake, you must decapitate it.”

Even when Justice Abban suggested letting Amua-Sekyi resign, Amidu maintained his position.

“Justice Abban called me to say if he wants to go, let him go,” he recounted. “I repeated my snake proverb to him and also to President Rawlings.”