A senior member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, has raised concerns over the delayed impeachment proceedings against Ghana's Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, calling on President Mahama and relevant stakeholders to expedite the process to avoid setting a dangerous precedent.
Speaking during an interview on The Forum on Asaase Radio, Samoa Addo emphasized that judicial accountability must not be sacrificed on the altar of political gamesmanship or procedural sluggishness. "There is a very rational policy consideration why, once we get to the threshold of prima facie, you cannot be in office while the impeachment process is ongoing," he explained. "But if you continue with a suspension for a long time, you have de facto removed the person." Samoa Addo warned that the optics surrounding the prolonged process could damage public trust in the impartiality of the system. "The longer the process drags, the more it begins to look like this is all being done to ensure that the substantive Chief Justice is not kept in office," he added. "I want to call on President Mahama and all those involved to expedite the impeachment process.
Everyone should rally around this call.
We don't want this process to drag." Touching on the recent posture of some legal professionals, Samoa Addo criticized those he said had assumed the role of speaking on behalf of the entire legal community without a proper mandate. "They decided they can speak for about 8,000 of us.
