Lawyer and a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, Theophilus Dzimega Jnr., has cast doubt on whether the High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the challenge filed by former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo against her removal from office.
Mrs. Torkornoo is seeking to overturn President John Mahama’s decision to remove her both as Chief Justice and as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
She argues that the President used a single process under Article 146(6) to remove her from two distinct constitutional offices, a move she contends violates the 1992 Constitution.
But speaking on Metro TV’s Inside Pages on Saturday, September 20, 2025, Dzimega said he does not believe the High Court is the right forum for the case.
“Let’s be honest here. The proceedings were held in camera. Does the High Court have jurisdiction to now ask that the proceedings that were held in camera, please bring them up for us to review? I don’t think so,” Dzimega said.
He argued that the Constitution does not create separate procedures for removing a Chief Justice and a Justice of the Supreme Court, insisting that the Chief Justice is part of the Superior Court of Judicature and is therefore covered by the same removal process.
“There is no separate path for the removal of the Chief Justice and the Justice of the Superior Court. The Chief Justice is part of them,” he stated.
Dzimega added that allowing a removed Chief Justice to remain on the Supreme Court bench would lead to absurd outcomes.
“Imagine we remove someone as Chief Justice, send them back to the Supreme Court, and later the substantive Chief Justice is out of the country. Then the same person becomes the senior-most judge and is supposed to act as Chief Justice. That would be absurd,” he said.
On Torkornoo’s choice to file at the High Court, Dzimega warned that it could amount to “forum shopping.”
“As a lawyer, you must know the forum in which you are going. You don’t go forum shopping. If I were the judge, I would dismiss it and award costs personally against the lawyer because I don’t see anything so ambiguous for them to come to the High Court,” he said.
Mrs. Torkornoo’s application, filed under Articles 23 and 141 of the Constitution and Order 55 of C.I. 47, is seeking to nullify the presidential warrant that removed her from both offices on September 1, 2025.
