She was the lone voice in a room of 31. Now she has left the room entirely.
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has resigned from the Council of State, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed, bringing an end to her time on the country's highest presidential advisory body. Neither Akuffo nor the Presidency has commented on the development. The circumstances surrounding her decision have not been publicly disclosed.
But the story behind her departure is far from opaque. It is written in the recent history of one of Ghana's most turbulent judicial episodes the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
The Vote That Set Everything in Motion
President Mahama swore Akuffo and 30 other members into the ninth Council of State in February 2025, with former Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho as chairman. Akuffo led Ghana's judiciary as the country's 13th Chief Justice from 2017 to 2020.
In April 2025, the Council voted on whether a prima facie case existed against then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, with 30 of 31 members in favour. Akuffo was the only member to abstain. President Mahama signed the warrant removing Torkornoo on September 1, 2025.
While the reasons for Akuffo's abstention were not publicly disclosed at the time, the Council's majority resolution informed President Mahama's decision to suspend Chief Justice Torkornoo.
She Did Not Stop at Abstaining
Sophia Akuffo's dissent extended well beyond her lone abstention in the Council chamber.
She appeared voluntarily before the Article 146 committee established to investigate Torkornoo, at the request of the suspended Chief Justice herself, to present testimony in her defence. In an interview in September 2025, she criticized the proceedings that led to Torkornoo's removal, arguing that the suspended Chief Justice did not receive a fair hearing. She described the process as a "treason trial" and said it had weakened the judiciary. She further argued that the allegations against Torkornoo "lack the gravity that will lead to a grave outcome such as the removal of the head of an institution of justice." The remarks were striking not only for their content, but for who was making them: a sitting member of the very Council that had voted 30-1 to set the removal process in motion, now openly defending the woman being removed.
Backlash and Calls for Her Removal
The remarks brought consequences of their own. Kwaku Ansa-Asare, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law, accused Akuffo of breaching her oath of secrecy as a Council member, arguing that her comments indirectly disclosed confidential proceedings. United Party member Solomon Owusu went further, announcing plans to petition for her removal and questioning how she could testify for Torkornoo while still sitting on the Council that had voted on the prima facie case. Akuffo has not responded to either accusation.
News of the resignation has generated significant public discussion, with some civil society groups and political observers questioning why the development was not publicly disclosed sooner. Commentators have also pointed to Akuffo's previous remarks emphasizing that members of the Council of State should provide independent and candid advice to the executive rather than simply endorse government positions.
A Quiet but Steady Withdrawal
The resignation, it appears, did not happen overnight. Akuffo is understood to have submitted her resignation toward the end of 2025 and has not attended a Council meeting since, including the most recent session three days ago. Her reported resignation has not yet been officially confirmed by the Council of State or the Office of the President.
Who Is Sophia Akuffo?
Sophia Akuffo is one of Ghana's most respected jurists, having served on the Supreme Court for over two decades before becoming the country's 13th Chief Justice. She was only the second woman to hold the position, after Justice Georgina Theodora Wood. Before her elevation to Chief Justice, she served as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and held several roles within the Ghanaian judiciary.
Her time on the Council of State had also drawn public attention earlier in 2023, when she joined pensioner groups protesting aspects of the government's domestic debt exchange programme, arguing that retirees should not bear an unfair burden in the country's economic recovery effort.
What Her Exit Means
Sophia Akuffo's departure from the Council of State is more than a personnel change. It is a statement quiet, as yet unspoken publicly, but unmistakable to anyone paying attention. When the sole dissenting voice in a constitutional advisory body chooses to walk away rather than continue to sit beside the consensus she opposed, something significant has broken down.
The Council of State is a constitutional body tasked with advising the president on matters of national importance. Its membership includes elected and appointed representatives drawn from across the country. No official announcement has been made regarding a replacement.
Ghana prides itself on being a beacon of democracy in Africa. But a healthy democracy requires not just elections it requires institutions that can speak truth to power, and members of advisory bodies who can dissent without consequence. The story of Sophia Akuffo's resignation is a reminder that that standard is not always easy to uphold.
Her reported departure from the Council of State marks the end of another chapter in her public service career and adds a significant dimension to ongoing national conversations about constitutional governance, judicial accountability, and the independence of state institutions.
SOURCES / REFERENCES
MyJoyOnline "Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo Resigns from the Council of State"
https://www.myjoyonline.com/former-chief-justice-sophia-akuffo-resigns-from-the-council-of-state/
(Published: June 14, 2026)
Adomonline "Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo Resigns from the Council of State"
https://www.adomonline.com/former-chief-justice-sophia-akuffo-resigns-from-the-council-of-state/
(Published: June 14, 2026)
NewsGhana "Former Chief Justice Akuffo Quits Council of State"
https://www.newsghana.com.gh/former-chief-justice-akuffo-quits-council-of-state/
(Published: June 14–15, 2026)
Ghanamma.com "Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo Resigns from the Council of State"
(Published: June 14, 2026)
GhanaWeb "30 in Favour, Sophia Akuffo Abstains: How Council of State Members Voted on Torkornoo's Prima Facie Case"
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/30-in-Favour-Sophia-Akuffo-Abstains
(Published: April 30, 2025)
JURIST "Ghana Dispatch: President Removes Chief Justice After Petitions Alleging Misbehavior"
(Published: September 2025)
Omanghana "Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo Resigns from Council of State Amid Judicial Controversy"
(Published: June 14–15, 2026)
Hot Digital Online "Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo Resigns from Council of State"
(Published: June 15, 2026)
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