Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo
Parliament approved President Akufo-Addo’s Chief Justice nominee, Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo yesterday in a unanimous voice vote after members of the Minority reversed their position.
The approval paves the way for her to become Ghana’s third female Chief Justice, following in the footsteps of Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
The confirmation marks a major milestone for the Supreme Court and represents a significant victory for the NPP Majority, which they can tout as bipartisan, and a way for the President to concentrate on his work.
The Majority Caucus’ members broke out into cheers when the vote was gaveled.
Gertrude was expected to be sworn in yesterday following Justice Jones Dotse’s retirement as acting Chief Justice.
Justice Jones Dotse, the most senior Justice on the Supreme Court bench, assumed the position of Acting Chief Justice after the retirement of Justice Anin-Yeboah, pending the confirmation of the nominee.
Justice Torkornoo was nominated by President Akufo-Addo to take the place of Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who reached the statutory retirement age of 70 on May 24, 2023.
He explained in a letter to the House that he decided to initiate the process in order to avoid a vacuum in the office of Chief Justice.
“To that end, by letter, dated April 25, 2023, pursuant to Article 144 (1) of the Constitution, I consulted with the Council of State on my nominee, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, Justice of the Supreme Court, who has been on the Supreme Court for the last four (4) years, and has been a member of the judiciary for the last 19 years, to succeed Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah,” the letter read in part.
The President continued, “The Council of State has notified me by letter under the hand of its Chairperson, dated April 28, 2023, of the successful completion of the consultation process.”
“Thus, in accordance with Article 144 (1) of the Constitution, I write to inform you that I have nominated Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, Justice of the Supreme Court, for approval by Parliament, as the next Chief Justice,” he added.
Justice Torkornoo was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on December 17, 2019 after receiving parliamentary approval.
She was also the supervising judge of the Commercial Courts in Ghana.
Born in Cape Coast to Abraham Kofi Sackey and Comfort Aba Sackey, Justice Torkornoo joined the bench in 2004.
Justice Torkornoo was appointed to the Court of Appeal in October 2012 before her elevation to the Supreme Court.
She attended Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast, where she earned her GCE Ordinary Level Certificate.
She subsequently went to Achimota School to complete her Advanced Level Certificate.
Her first degree was in Law and Sociology from the University of Ghana, and she graduated from the Professional Course in Law at the Ghana School of Law in 1986.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House