Renowned academic Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has waded into the ongoing debate over the threshold for removing Ghana's Chief Justice under Article 146, calling for a clearer understanding of the prima facie standard and warning against political interference in judicial accountability.
Writing on his Facebook page, he stated, "With President Mahama recently concluding that a petition to remove the Chief Justice under Article 146 does disclose a prima facie case, considerable public debate has emerged over what exactly this threshold entails." According to him, this renewed attention offers an opportunity to revisit former President Akufo-Addo's January 2025 decision on a similar petition-a decision he believes was deeply flawed. "That decision was rendered without the same degree of scrutiny now emerging.
Yet it deserves no less, for its misapplication of the law not only undermined public confidence, but also threatened the constitutional balance between executive screening and independent judicial inquiry," he argued.
Professor Asare explained that a prima facie case, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Agyei-Twum v Attorney-General, means allegations that, if true, merit further investigation. "It is not a final judgment or a finding of guilt," he stressed, adding that the President's role at this stage is procedural, not evaluative.
