President Mahama has suspended the chief justice of Ghana, according to a statement

Three petitions were filed against Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, and Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama responded by suspending her with immediate effect and opening an investigation, according to a statement.

According to the statement from his office, the president “determined that a prima facie case has been established” following discussions with the Council of State, and a committee has been constituted to review the petitions.

The statement omitted specifics about the charges made in each petition.

Further reaction was not immediately available from Ghana’s presidential office.

Akufo-Addo, the former president, nominated Chief jurist Torkornoo, who has been Ghana’s third female jurist since June 2023.

When President Akufo-Addo declared earlier this year that a petition to remove Justice Torkornoo from the bench had “several deficiencies,” she managed to withstand the removal request.