Social activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has said the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo for financial impropriety means Ghana must be prepared to punish every rot.
Vormawor subtly directed the Mahama government to the US$97 million National Cathedral hole.
He asserted that what is good for Araba is good for the Cathedral.
In a post on X, Vormawor wrote, “Removing a Chief Justice for financial impropriety means we must be prepared to punish every rot.
What is good for Araba is good for the Cathedral”.
Meanwhile, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, in a separate post reacting to the Chief Justice’s dismissal, argued that the Chief Justice failed to rise to the demands of her office, often choosing silence when the nation needed courage and integrity.
Vormawor wrote, “A chief justice has been removed. But as someone who has had a front row seat through the process, hear me clearly, when I say there is nothing to celebrate here.
The removal of the Chief Justice is not a victory, but the closing act of a disappointing chapter. Araba held the highest seat of justice at a time when courage and integrity were desperately needed, yet too often her “leadership” chose silence when the people cried out for answers. She enabled mampam’s worst impulses and chose the convenience of power”.
He further noted that Torkornoo slipped the judiciary into mistrust and estrangement by fixing and removing judges as political paymasters call for.
Vormawor added, “It is all the more disappointing because the office she held demanded more. The Chief Justice is meant to be the moral compass of the Republic. Yet her tenure will be remembered for opportunities missed; for moments when the Office could have been a shield for the weak, but too often became a fortress for the regime.
In the midst of this, it is important that we commend the committee of her peers who, in the face of pressure and deliberate misinformation, chose duty over expedience. I am certain that their recommendation was not an easy call, but their restraint and quiet stoicism preserved the dignity of the process, despite Araba’s own best efforts to ensure the opposite”.
The social activist further highlighted, “Sadly? Araba’s removal is a reminder that leadership without courage corrodes institutions from within. It is my prayer that what has fallen today is not just a person but alsthe lack of confidence in the idea that justice in this Republic can ever be impartial and bold.
May we find our path to restoring faith soon to the Judiciary before it is too late. Araba is gone, but her signature and the culture she symbolizes remains stuck on every wall, like dried blood”.
Vormawor further called for a judicial reform, “Our Judiciary is not fit for purpose. Reform it or we will perish. Let us not sweep the cracks under the carpet. I hope the 4th Republic learns from the fate of the 1st”.
Background
President John Mahama sacked the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, from office with immediate effect after he received a first report from the five-member committee he constituted to investigate three petitions brought against the Chief Justice.
Hours after President Mahama received the committee reports, Chief Justice Torkornoo was sacked with immediate effect.
A statement from the presidency stated, “President John Dramani Mahama has, in accordance with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution, removed the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, from office with immediate effect”.
“This follows receipt of the report of the Committee constituted under Article 146(6) to inquire into a petition submitted by a Ghanaian citizen, Mr. Daniel Ofori. After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.
“Under Article 146(9), the President is required to act in accordance with the Committee’s recommendation,” the statement concluded.
A leaked document on social media concluded that Justice Torkornoo had engaged in conduct amounting to “stated misbehaviour” under Article 146(1).
The Key finding read, “Unlawful expenditure of public funds: The committee held that the Chief Justice caused the Judicial Service to pay travel expenses for her husband and daughter during private holiday trips in 2023, including per diem allowances. This, the report stated, was an “avoidable and reckless dissipation of public funds.”
Abuse of discretionary power: The committee found that her handling of the transfer of one Mr. Baiden breached Article 296(a) and (b) of the Constitution, describing the act as misbehaviour.
Interference in judicial appointments: The report also noted that she sought to bypass the established process for nominating Justices of the Supreme Court, contrary to precedent set in the Ghana Bar Association case. The committee concluded this amounted to misbehaviour”.
The committee subsequently recommended her removal in accordance with Article 146(7). President Mahama, bound by Article 146(9), which makes the President’s action mandatory once such a recommendation is made, formally removed Justice Torkornoo by Warrant of Removal under the Presidential Seal.
See the post below:
Removing a Chief Justice for financial impropriety means we must be prepared to punish every rot.
— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) September 9, 2025
What is good for Araba is good for the Cathedral.