Renowned private legal practitioner Thaddeus Sory has called on Old Tafo MP, Vincent Assafuah, to refrain from interfering in the petition process seeking to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
In a legal opinion titled “To Thine Own Self Be True – Let the Law Work,” Sory questioned Assafuah’s basis for claiming that the Chief Justice was not consulted before President John Dramani Mahama forwarded the petitions to the Council of State.
“How did Mr. Assafuah, within just one day, ascertain that the Chief Justice was not consulted before the petitions were referred to the Council of State? Did the Chief Justice personally inform him that she was not consulted?”
Assafuah, who has filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the President’s referral of the petitions, argues that the Chief Justice should have been consulted before the process began. However, Sory contends that Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution clearly states that the President must act “in consultation with the Council of State” when handling petitions for the removal of a Chief Justice.
Sory further dismissed Assafuah’s claims, arguing that the law explicitly outlines the correct procedure, which the President has followed. He posed key questions:
“If the Constitution explicitly states that ‘where the petition is for the removal of the Chief Justice, the President shall act in consultation with the Council of State,’ is it unconstitutional for the President to refer the petitions to the Council of State?”
Drawing from biblical references, Sory urged Assafuah to allow the legal process to take its course, quoting Acts 5:38-39, where Gamaliel advised against fighting a cause that may be of divine will:
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