Ghana’s Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, has thrown out the application by the Speaker of Parliament to have Justice Gaewu recuse himself from the panel to hear the case on whether or not the apex court could set aside his declaration of four seats vacant in parliament.
According to the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court does not prevent anyone from serving as a judge of the apex court because they belonged to a political party.
The Chief Justice in her ruling disclosed that once the person is vetted and approved by Parliament, it means they are competent to hear such cases.
She added that the Supreme Court currently has a former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and a former NDC parliamentary candidate as Justices.
Lawyers of Speaker Bagbin put in an application to remove Justice Ernest Gaewu from the case of the 4 vacant seats in Parliament.
According to him, Justice Ernest Gaewu once contested as parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Volta region.
Counsel for the Speaker, Thaddeus Sory, during proceedings in court Wednesday, October 30, 2024, said Justice Gaewu’s membership of the NPP and sitting as a judge on a matter whose outcome may affect the interest of the party may compromise his judgement.
