Genie Out Of The Bottle

President John Mahama

 

Not all information should be let out to the public. These are confidential state secrets which when let out can impugn national security or interest.

During belligerencies between one country and another, the disposition of the military among other information constitute secrets which the media should avoid disseminating by all means should they chance upon same. Disrespecting such matters would impact national interest.

Every country has such confidential files, the contents of which are classified and would be declassified when the time is due. Some classified files may not be open to the public until sometimes three decades, depending upon the sensitivity of their contents.

It is for good reason therefore that holders of certain state positions must swear the oath of secrecy, breaches of which are serious infractions.

Some information however do not fall under the foregone and must be quickly let out to the citizens without undue delay when developments occur.

The resignation of a member of the Council of State in the person of Justice Sophia Akuffo is certainly not one of such secrets.

She is said to have kept away from activities of the Council since September last year, information which was kept away from Ghanaians until a media broke the news.

Having opposed the dismissal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo whose ouster took place in September 2025, same year she is said to have walked out of the Council, her principles stand prominent and unwavering.

Ghanaians have engaged in street gossips about the resignation, which though a high profile development, was deliberately kept away from public notice.

Rightfully, Ghanaians are posing questions about why a resignation which took place in September 2025 was not brought to the notification of the public.

It appears the action was not the standard formal penning of words to announce a resignation.

Of course, government was uncomfortable about the repercussions of such information making it to the public space, the questions thereof embarrassing.

Eventually, the genie is out of the bottle as the idiom goes, and all we can do is relish the many speculations or even rumours about what really drove the woman to do as she did.

What could have informed the resignation of the former Chief Justice whose position on the Council of State is a constitutional requirement?

So government or the President looked on as the constitutional infraction of the absence of a former Chief Justice from the Council persisted? For how long will the situation last?

Given her vociferousness against matters which border on corruption and bad governance in general, could she have noticed moral infractions and decided that ‘I have had enough of the crap?’

Could she have fallen out with the President on matters of principles?  Was her access to the President declined upon a directive from the Commander-in-Chief as being speculated?

If the basis of her resignation are anchored on bad governance or other constitutional infractions as being wondered by Ghanaians, Justice Sophia Akuffo has proven her mettle. She is unlike sycophants who have seen nothing wrong with the listing ship of state.

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