Torkornoo must be allowed to contest removal - Kofi Bentil
“No Arbitrary Dismissals”: Bentil Backs Torkornoo’s Right to Redress
Elohim Nyame 
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has argued that former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has every constitutional right to challenge her removal from office, stressing that the framers of Ghana’s Constitution clearly sought to prevent arbitrary dismissals of superior court judges.
In a post on his social media platforms, Mr Bentil cited page 131, paragraph 286 of a constitutional commentary, noting that the drafters of the 1992 Constitution expressly intended to protect judges from unfair removal.
Quoting directly, he highlighted: “On the removal of judges of the superior courts, the committee, conscious of the need to ensure that judges are not arbitrarily removed from office, proposes that the Chief Justice or a judge of the superior courts may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his or her office, arising from infirmity of body or mind or for stated misbehaviour or incompetence.”
Mr Bentil, who is also a private legal practitioner, insisted that Justice Torkornoo had not yet exhausted all the constitutional avenues available for redress and should therefore be given the space to challenge both her removal as Chief Justice and her status as a Supreme Court judge.
He reiterated this position during an interview on TV3’s New Day morning show with Beatrice Adu on Thursday, 18 September, urging Ghanaians to focus on constitutional safeguards designed to uphold judicial independence.
The debate over Justice Torkornoo’s ousting has divided opinion in the legal and political space, with critics questioning the basis of her removal and supporters of government defending the decision. Mr Bentil’s intervention adds to growing calls for constitutional clarity on the matter.
