A private citizen, Samuel Bryan Buabeng, has taken the government to the Supreme Court over the failure to appoint a replacement for former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo on the Council of State following her resignation in September 2025.
Mr Buabeng is asking the apex court to declare that President John Dramani Mahama has acted unconstitutionally by leaving the position vacant and to direct the President to take steps to fill the vacancy.
In the suit filed at the Supreme Court, the plaintiff argues that Articles 89(1) and 89(2)(a)(i) of the 1992 Constitution require the President to appoint a former Chief Justice to the Council of State where the occupant of that position resigns, becomes incapacitated or is removed from office.
He is therefore seeking an order requiring President Mahama to consult Parliament within 14 days and, within 48 hours after the consultation, appoint a former Chief Justice to replace Sophia Akuffo.
Mr Buabeng is also asking the court to clarify the constitutional status of the Council of State following the departure of a member whose position is specifically provided for under Article 89.
The suit further seeks a declaration that the Council of State is not properly constituted when a member listed under Article 89(2)(a), (b) or (c) resigns, becomes incapacitated or is removed from office without a replacement being appointed.
A separate relief specifically addresses the position reserved for a former Chief Justice, with the plaintiff asking the court to declare that the Council remains improperly constituted following the resignation of a former Chief Justice appointed under Article 89(2)(a)(i).
Sophia Akuffo, who served as Chief Justice from 2017 to 2020, resigned from the Council of State in 2025 after becoming involved in proceedings surrounding the removal of then-Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Her resignation followed her appearance before the committee established under Article 146 to investigate petitions against the suspended Chief Justice. Akuffo testified in defence of Torkornoo after being invited to do so.
The former Chief Justice had also been the only member of the 31-member Council of State who abstained when the body voted in April 2025 on whether a prima facie case had been established against Torkornoo. Thirty members voted in favour.
Following her testimony, Akuffo publicly criticised the proceedings, arguing that Torkornoo had not been afforded a fair hearing. She described the process as a “treason trial” and expressed concern that it could undermine the judiciary.
The Council of State is a constitutionally mandated advisory body that provides counsel to the President on matters of national importance. The Supreme Court will now have to determine whether the continued vacancy created by Sophia Akuffo’s resignation amounts to a failure to comply with the constitutional provisions governing the Council’s composition.
