Former Head of Monitoring at the Forestry Commission, Rev. Charles Owusu, has cautioned against the growing politicisation of the ongoing attempt to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo from office, describing the situation as a “deep trust issue” stemming from Ghana’s polarised political culture.
Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme on Friday morning, Mr Owusu bemoaned how partisan interests have overtaken objective legal scrutiny in the matter.
He said it is no longer about the law, but about political loyalty, explaining that even professionals, including lawyers, abandon legal reasoning to promote their party’s agenda.
He noted that political trust deficits have long shaped the national psyche, often prompting sweeping dismissals of public officials following electoral transitions.
He maintained that we don’t trust each other, even as one people and after every election, we want to remove everyone and replace them with our own.
Rev. Owusu observed that the current debate over the Chief Justice’s removal reflects entrenched partisan alignments, with members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) largely supporting the process and those in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) resisting it.
He expressed concern that the legal merits of the case are being overshadowed by political posturing.
He further criticised some of the early developments in the saga, including a lawsuit filed by Vincent Ekow Asafuah of the NPP, represented by former Attorney General Godfred Dame. While acknowledging Dame’s legal acumen, he questioned the political implications of his involvement, arguing that it is not about capability but the optics and the message it sends.
Rev. Owusu also faulted Chief Justice Torkornoo for engaging publicly on the matter too soon.
I think she was a bit hasty. The moment the issue arose, she started communicating—writing to President Mahama. That action alone added a partisan layer to an already sensitive situation, he remarked.
While recognising the constitutional right to initiate investigations into the conduct of high officials, Rev. Owusu appealed to former President John Mahama to exercise restraint.
The Bible says all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial, he said, and added; Yes, it is legal to petition for an investigation, but is it what’s best for the country right now?
He warned that once such precedents are set, the floodgates could open for more politically motivated petitions.
No one is perfect. If we start this, it may never end. Even the president cannot please everyone in four years. Does that mean we should impeach him?
Rev. Owusu referenced Ghana’s 2012 and 2020 election petition outcomes as examples of judicial restraint in the interest of national stability.
He said even when things were not perfect, the judges considered the bigger picture. Declaring a sitting president illegitimate could have thrown the country into chaos.
He called for more behind-the-scenes dialogue between the President and the Chief Justice to prevent matters of such national significance from becoming public spectacles, adding that the public spat is not how we should handle things and should not be made our new normal.
In a broader reflection, Rev. Owusu questioned Ghana’s national priorities, contrasting the CJ removal debate with the country’s pressing healthcare and infrastructure challenges.
He said we are losing GHȼ9 billion annually to revenue leakages, and yet we prioritise debates like this over fixing hospitals, roads, and schools.
People wait months for medical appointments, some die before results come in, yet we’re fixated on whether the Chief Justice stays or goes.
He called for national introspection, saying our hospitals are under-resourced, women deliver on bare floors, and roads have become death traps and so we must rise above politics and prioritise the needs of the people.
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