Francis-Xavier Sosu, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee has urged the newly appointed Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, to work on eradicating the judiciary’s current reputation.
According to him, the Judiciary has recently been highlighted in reports as corrupt, politically biassed, and unfair in the delivery of justice in the country.
Francis-Xavier Sosu described Gertrude Torkonoo’s nomination as the next Chief Justice as “refreshing.”
The Madina Member of Parliament believes that if approved, the nominee must work to restore trust in the judiciary throughout her tenure.
“Our judiciary is not in a good position. We have been cited to be partial, corrupt and politically biased. Even the outgoing Chief Justice has a GH¢5 million bribery allegation before the General Legal Council. He was referred to the police, and we don’t even know the status of all those investigations. So, the new Chief has a daunting task of cleaning the judiciary. We need a serious house cleaning of the judiciary.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated Gertrude Torkornoo, a Supreme Court Justice, as the next Chief Justice of Ghana on Wednesday, subject to approval by Parliament.
If approved by Parliament, Justice Torkornoo will succeed Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who will step down as Chief Justice on May 24, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
