Council of State presents findings on ASEPA petition for removal of Chief Justice to Akufo-Addo

The Council of State has presented its findings to President Akufo-Addo in line with the 1992 constitution, on a petition referred to her by President Akufo-Addo in which the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), petitioned the President for the removal of the Chiefs Justice of the Republic, Justice Anin Yeboah, from office over some 5 million dollars bribery allegations leveled against him by a private legal practitioner, Kwasi Afrifa.

According to Article 146 (6) and (7) of the 1992 constitution, where a petition is for the removal of the Chief Justice, “the President shall, acting in consultation with the Council of State, appoint a committee consisting of two Justices of the Supreme Court, one of whom shall be appointed chairman by the President, and three other persons who are not members of the Council of State, nor members of Parliament, nor lawyers”.

The constitution further provides in clause (7) as follows, “the committee appointed under clause (6) of this article shall inquire into the petition and recommend to the President whether the Chief Justice ought to be removed from office.

Per clause 8 which states that “all proceedings under this article shall be held in camera, and the Justice or Chairman against whom the petition is made is entitled to be heard in his defence by himself or by a lawyer or other expert of his choice”, the findings of the Council of State will not be made public until such time when all the necessary actions have been taken.

Chairman of the Council

Presenting the findings, the chairman of the Council, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, noted that the Council has taken all necessary issues and laws into consideration before arriving at it report.

“The Council of State has made its findings, and we are here to present to you the findings of the Council of State as to whether a prima facie case had been made to warrant the start of impeachment process for the removal of the Chief Justice of Ghana “Nana Otuo Siriboe II stated.

President Akufo-Addo

Receiving the findings of the Council, President Akufo-Addo said taking the provisions of the 1992 constitution into consideration, his administration will act on the findings of the Council of State appropriately.

“I understand that the process of the impeachment of the Chief Justice and indeed, Justices of the Supreme Court, are meant to be in camera proceedings, so that the content of the consultations between the two of us, you side as in the letter and my own, will for the time being, remain confidential until we are in the position to announce the results of it to the world” President Akufo-Addo said.

Wilberforce Asare

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