Afenyo-Markin’s conduct triggered petition for removal of Torkonoo – Thaddeus Sory

Private legal practitioner Thaddeus Sory has revealed that Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin was a central figure in his client’s petition seeking the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkonoo.

He noted that one of the major counts in the petition directly referenced the Effutu MP and actions he allegedly took.

Speaking in an interview, Mr. Sory said his client raised serious concerns about what they believed was unusual judicial conduct involving the Minority Leader. According to him, Mr. Afenyo-Markin became the only person—within just two hours—to secure a full Supreme Court panel, presided over by Justice Torkonoo, to grant orders that “no court in any common law jurisdiction would give” under the type of application he had filed.

Mr. Sory argued that the situation created discomfort for members of the judiciary, particularly Justice Gabriel Pwamang, who chaired the committee that later recommended the removal of Chief Justice Torkonoo. He said Justice Pwamang’s own report on the matter exposed further complications, which he had previously highlighted.

The lawyer explained that during the hearings, he received remarks from individuals familiar with both Mr. Afenyo-Markin and Justice Torkonoo. Those individuals reportedly questioned why he “did not understand that that is his sister,” a comment Mr. Sory interpreted—after inquiry—to mean that the two had close personal ties and hailed from the same area. He further disclosed being told that when Justice Torkonoo’s father passed away, the Minority Leader hosted her visitors, a detail shared with him by people who were present at the time.

According to Mr. Sory, had he appeared at the next sitting, he would have formally raised an objection concerning the former Chief Justice herself. He intended to argue that “all the arguments and the descent into conflict” stemmed from the fact that a person close to her—Afenyo-Markin—was the plaintiff in the case.

He added that newer information suggested certain services within the Judicial Service were connected to the Minority Leader, alleging that Mr. Afenyo-Markin was “rendering services and making huge commercial profit from them.” Mr. Sory claimed this personal interest was why the Minority Leader had intensified efforts to present the nomination of the new Chief Justice, Justice Baffoe Bonnie, as a matter of national controversy.

He insisted, however, that the issue had “nothing to do with the Minority’s position,” arguing instead that the Effutu MP convinced colleagues to take a collective stance by selling a misleading narrative. “The facts show he has an interest in her being there,” he stated. “That is why he is crying louder than every other person.”

Mr. Sory also used the opportunity to question the current parliamentary approval process for judicial nominees. He argued that the Constitution requires “prior approval of Parliament,” not necessarily a full vetting session. He proposed a new model where Parliament reviews a nominee’s credentials and background, resorting to vetting only when clarifications are needed. In other cases, he said, the House could use acclamation.

According to him, the present format has become unnecessarily long and burdensome, “holding people hostage to a process where 95% of it is a joke.” He maintained that if an appointee fails to perform, the appointing authority already holds the power to remove them.