Driver petitions Nana Addo to remove CJ for ‘incompetence’

A driver has petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to fire the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, for what he views to be her incompetence and misbehaviour in her handling of the fallout of the judicial corruption scandal.

The driver, one Ernest Obri Lartey, in his petition, said the Chief Justice violated Article 146 (8) of the 1992 constitution with her handling of the judicial bribery scandal following the expose by the investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his firm, Tiger Eye Pi.
The petition recounted that she indicted the 34 judges and magistrates following the revelation, and subsequent petition to then President John Mahama for the removal of the judges.

The 34 judges were asked to respond to the petition, but Mr. Lartey said that before the indicted judges and magistrates could respond, the CJ published the contents of the petition in the media followed by the screening of the documentary detailing the revelation.

Mr. Lartey argued further that, the Chief Justice willfully violated the constitution because she discussed the contents of the petition from Anas with the petitioner before he submitted the petition, thus constituting ex parte communication.

This was after the Chief Justice had removed some judges from office for having been found to have communicated with one of the parties in a pending litigation, contrary to the conduct of the judges and magistrates in a 2005/06 case, according to Mr. Lartey.

“Since the Chief Justice finds Ex parte communication by judges and magistrate to be so grave that they have to be removed from office, she the Chief Justice should equally be removed from office for engaging in Ex parte Communication with the petitioner and eventually heard the same petition and made prima facie determinations. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.”

Claim of incompetence

To support his claim of incompetence against the Chief Justice, Mr. Lartey in his petition argued that “The Chief Justice’s incompetence is obvious when she failed to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court that any petition seeking the removal of the superior court under Article 146 (8) of the constitution. The Chief Justice sat in the Agyei Twum Case when the Supreme Court made the declaration yet the chief justice in this instance, violated the same Article 146 (8) of the constitution.”

Meanwhile, the CJ has already announced that she will be officially retiring from active service in the next few months.

Some of the affected judges in the judicial corruption scandal, notably Justice Dery and Habib Logoh, are already in court fighting numerous battles against the CJ in a bid to clear their names.

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