Akufo-Addo breached oath of office by ignoring petition against Sophia Akuffo — Martin Amidu

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has accused former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of violating his oath of office by failing to act on a petition that sought the removal of his cousin who was then the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.

In an opinion editorial dated May 15, Mr. Amidu said the former President’s refusal to initiate the constitutionally mandated process under Article 146 after receiving the petition was a clear breach of his responsibilities.

He argued that although the Constitution obliges the President to act upon such petitions, Akufo-Addo sat on the petition until Ms. Akuffo retired in December 2019.

“To her knowledge as Chief Justice, a citizen petitioned her cousin President Akufo-Addo for her removal from office… [and] the President in contravention of his oath of office refused or failed to take any action on the petition until she retired from office on 16 December 2019,” Mr. Amidu wrote.

According to him, the former Chief Justice showed no concern about the illegality because she was the beneficiary of it.

“Ms. Akuffo saw nothing wrong with her cousin the President’s violation of his constitutional oath of office because the petition was to remove her from office as the Chief Justice,” he stated.

The anti-graft crusader’s statement was a response to Sophia Akuffo’s recent call for reforms to Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution following the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo.

Article 146 is the provision under which the current Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo has been suspended pending investigations into petitions seeking her removal from office.

Mr. Amidu argued that Sophia Akuffo’s opposition to the current process is not driven by fairness concerns but rather “political and family interests.”