Sammy Gyamfi and Justice Gertrude Torkornoo
The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has reacted to the response of the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, regarding the accusation of financial misappropriation against her in one of the petitions for her removal.
In a post shared on X on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Sammy Gyamfi argued that Justice Torkornoo’s defence, which cites the Judicial Service’s Travel Policy as the basis for her actions, amounts to a confession.
He pointed out that nowhere in the Travel Policy is it stated that the Chief Justice can benefit from travelling with her husband and daughter at the expense of the state, which she did.
“Suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo confesses to using her official travel privileges (air ticket and per diem) on a private trip for the benefit of her husband and daughter, in breach of the Travel Policy of the Judicial Service.
“The Travel Policy is very clear. Paragraph B(2) of the policy, first adopted in 2010 and amended to take effect from 5th January 2019, makes it clear that the Chief Justice can embark on private or personal travel with her ‘security alone’,” Sammy Gyamfi wrote.
He added, “The policy does not permit ‘opting to travel with a spouse and a daughter’ at the expense of the state.”
Background:
In her response to petitions lodged for her removal from office, the Chief Justice denied allegations of misappropriating GH¢261,890 of public funds for private foreign travel with her husband and daughter.
According to the Chief Justice, who has been suspended by the president following the establishment of a prima facie case against her, the claim that her spouse and daughter were not entitled to have their travel funded by the Judicial Service is “untruthful and unfortunate” within the context of her appointment letter and the Judicial Service Foreign Travel Policy.
“My appointment letter, which should have been included in the original bundle as Exhibit DO1, clearly outlines the terms of my appointment as Chief Justice. These terms include two round-trip tickets for official vacations, each capped at a maximum of 14 days. Paragraph B1 of the appointment letter specifies that travel expenses, hotel accommodation, and per diem for these holidays are to be borne by the Judicial Service,” she noted in her response.
She emphasised that the Judicial Service Policy on Foreign Travel, among other provisions, permits a Chief Justice to “undertake unlimited official travels with either his/her spouse or other person of his/her choice in a year, fully funded by the Judicial Service.”
It also states that when “accompanied by the spouse or other person, he/she shall travel on the same class of air ticket as the Chief Justice and shall be paid the equivalent of half the per diem paid to the Chief Justice.
“These policies, in place since 2010, explicitly authorise me to travel with my spouse or another designated person, such as my daughter, on official vacations.”
She argued that the decision to allow the Judicial Service to cover the expenses of her spouse and daughter was an exercise of her authorisation granted by the Policy on Foreign Travels by Head of the Judiciary and Superior Court Judges, as amended in 2019.
The said petition, which was presented to President John Dramani Mahama by one Daniel Ofori on Monday, March 17, 2025, accused Justice Torkornoo of financial misappropriation of about GH¢261,890 and US$30,000 in her foreign trips.
“In 2023, the Honourable Chief Justice misappropriated the sum of GH¢261,890.00 of public funds for the benefit of the Chief Justice for her private foreign travel with her husband, Mr Francis Kofi Torkornoo, and her daughter Miss Edem S.A. Torkornoo, and US$30,000 in per diem allowance when, to her knowledge, neither the husband of the Chief Justice nor the Chief Justice’s daughter were entitled to have their travel or any travel allowances paid for out of the funds of the Judicial Service,” part of Ofori’s petition reads.
Read Justice Torkornoo’s full response below:
BAI/AE
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