Sophia Akuffo Exits Council of State Amid Judicial Storm
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has resigned from the Council of State, closing a contentious chapter in Ghana’s constitutional advisory body. Her departure underscores mounting tensions over judicial independence and executive oversight at the highest levels of governance.
According to #AsaaseRadio, the distinguished jurist tendered her resignation last year and has not attended Council meetings since, though no public comment has been issued by the presidency. The move follows months of scrutiny after she abstained from the Council’s decisive vote that established a prima facie case against then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo. Thirty members voted in favor, leaving Akuffo as the sole abstention, a stance that later drew both praise and censure.
Akufo-Addo’s subsequently appeared before the Article 146 committee to testify in defense of Torkornoo, an unprecedented intervention by a sitting Council member. She later described the removal proceedings as a treason trial that weakened the judiciary, arguing that the allegations lacked the gravity to warrant ousting the head of an institution of justice. Critics, including former Ghana School of Law Director Kwaku Ansa-Asare, accused her of breaching her oath of secrecy, while others announced plans to petition for her removal from the advisory body.
Appointed as an institutional nominee under President John Mahama, Akuffo had insisted she served the Ghanaian people rather than presidential interest. Her tenure attracted attention when she joined pensioner protests against the domestic debt exchange programme, contending that retirees should not bear disproportionate burdens in fiscal restructuring. The Council of State, mandated to counsel the president on governance, comprises elected regional representatives, ex-officio members, and appointees drawn from diverse professional fields.
Akuffo, the country’s thirteenth Chief Justice and only the second woman to hold the post, spent over two decades on the Supreme Court before her 2017 appointment to the apex bench. She previously sat on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and chaired the University of Ghana Governing Council. Recently enstooled as Mmrahene of the Akuapem Traditional Area, she remains a prominent figure in legal and traditional spheres despite her exit from the presidential advisory council.
The resignation leaves a vacancy in a body already navigating delicate constitutional questions, and no successor has been announced. Analysts suggest the episode may prompt renewed debate about the Council’s transparency, the boundaries of dissent within its ranks, and the enduring struggle to balance collegial confidentiality with public accountability.
Source: #AsaaseRadio
Author: Korkor Anumu
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