President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urgently appealed to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to expedite the approval of Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as the successor to the position of Chief Justice.
In a letter sighted by ABC News, the President stressed that the necessity of this swift action is to forestall any gap in the leadership of the judiciary, given the impending retirement of Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah as the current Chief Justice.
“It is my respectful hope that the approval by Parliament of Justice Torkonoo can proceed expeditiously to enable her assume office as soon as practicable following the retirement of Chief Justice Anin Yeboah”, parts of the letter read.
Last week, the President nominated Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo, a Justice of the Supreme Court, as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.
Her nomination is subject to approval by Parliament.
When approved by Parliament, Justice Torkornoo will replace Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who retires as Chief Justice on May 24, this year, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
In a letter to the Council of State, President Akufo-Addo said Justice Torkornoo who has been “on the Supreme Court for the last four (4) and has been a member of the Judiciary for the last nineteen (19) years is duly qualified and eminently fit to discharge the functions of Chief Justice.”
Justice Torkornoo will become the third female Chief Justice in history, following the footsteps of Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Justice Torkornoo will be President Akufo-Addo’s third appointment to the office of Chief Justice since he assumed office in January 2017.
Read below the full statement by the President to the Speaker of Parliament:
