Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo
In a shocking turn of events, the dismissed Jasikan Circuit Court Judge, Alfred Kwabena Asiedu, has taken legal action against the Judicial Service and Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
The judge was dismissed for alleged misconduct after being accused of abuse of power, sexual exploitation, malicious prosecution, and impropriety by Singari Diana Sadia in a petition to the Chief Justice on January 16, 2023.
Asiedu had previously denied the allegations against him and now seeks a declaration from the court that his removal from office was unlawful. He is also challenging the findings of both the Disciplinary Committee and Judicial Council, claiming that they acted beyond their powers in making a finding of malicious prosecution against him.
The judge’s legal action comes in the wake of an ongoing wave of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations against prominent figures in the judiciary and other spheres of public life in the country.
He had already denied the allegations against him by describing them as a figment of the petitioner’s illusioned imagination.
He is praying the court to declare his removal from office as ‘unlawful.’
The reliefs he’s seeking include: “A declaration that the removal of the Applicant from office as a Circuit Court judge as contained in the letter signed by the 2nd Respondent dated I3th November 2023 is unlawful.”
“A declaration that both the Disciplinary Committee and the Judicial Council acted ultra vires when they made a finding of malicious prosecution against the Applicant, and a declaration that the said findings of the two bodies are patent error of law on the face of record and same liable to be quashed by the supervisory powers of this Court.”
One Singari Diana Sadia petitioned the Chief Justice on January 16, 2023 accusing the judge of abuse of power, sexual exploitation, malicious prosecution, and impropriety.
The petition was then transferred to the disciplinary committee of the Judiciary Service, which investigated and recommended that the misbehaviour of the judge merited dismissal.
A letter from the Chief Justice, therefore, directed the judge to hand over all official properties in his possession, including his official vehicle, dockets, and record books, to the Judicial Secretary.
By Vincent Kubi