President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is asking the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin to quickly facilitate the approval of Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as replacement for the position of Chief Justice.
In a letter to the Speaker, the President reiterated that this is to avoid a vacuum in the office of the Chief Justice following the retirement of Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah as the outgoing head of the judiciary.
“It is my respectful hope that the approval by Parliament of Justice Torkonoo can proceed expeditiously to enable her assume office as soon as practicable following the retirement of Chief Justice Anin Yeboah”, parts of the letter read.
Last week, the President nominated Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo, a Justice of the Supreme Court, as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.
Her nomination is subject to approval by Parliament.
When approved by Parliament, Justice Torkornoo will replace Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who retires as Chief Justice on May 24, this year, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
In a letter to the Council of State, President Akufo-Addo said Justice Torkornoo who has been “on the Supreme Court for the last four (4) and has been a member of the Judiciary for the last nineteen (19) years is duly qualified and eminently fit to discharge the functions of Chief Justice.”
Justice Torkornoo will become the third female Chief Justice in history, following the footsteps of Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Justice Torkornoo will be President Akufo-Addo’s third appointment to the office of Chief Justice since he assumed office in January 2017.
Already, the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has massively endorsed the nomination of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as the incoming Chief Justice.
JUSAG wants Justice Torkornoo, whose nomination is subject to Parliamentary approval, to outrank current Chief Justice Anin Yeboah as the best Chief Justice with the issues of labour at heart.
According to the Association, the current head of the Judiciary has performed better than any Chief Justice in the history of Ghana as far as the welfare of their members is concerned but wants Justice Torkornoo to set the bar higher.
Reacting to the nomination of Justice Torkornoo in an interview with Citi News, the General Secretary of the JUSAG, Yakubu Abdulai indicated that their expectation for the next Chief Justice is for her to work towards eliminating any form of intimidation and mistreatment of their members.
