Enough of This: Samson Lardy Advocates for and Insists on Clear Impeachment Guidelines within the Judiciary

A well-known Ghanaian journalist and lawyer, Samson Lardy Anyenini, has shared a strong message on Facebook calling for clear and detailed rules for removing judges from office.

b

His message on Tuesday, 27th May, 2025, speaks about the need for proper laws and procedures to guide the impeachment of judges, especially the Chief Justice.

In his post, Samson referred to a 2018 court case where respected journalist Kwaku Baako asked the Supreme Court to ensure detailed rules were put in place for judge impeachment. He pointed out that a similar concern was raised many years ago by Justice Sophia Akuffo, who later became the Chief Justice.

Justice Akuffo had expressed worry that Ghana’s Constitution does not give enough details about how judges should be removed. She said that although Article 146 of the Constitution talks about the process, it only gives a broad idea and not the full steps needed to carry out such a serious action.

She explained that important things like the type of petition to start the process and the rules the committee must follow were not clearly stated. According to her, this creates confusion and allows too much room for personal opinions, especially when terms like “misbehaviour” are not well defined.

Justice Akuffo warned that leaving each committee to create its own rules could harm the fairness and credibility of the process. She said it was expected that laws would be passed to explain these details better, but this has not been done.

Now, Samson Lardy is repeating this concern and asking that Parliament and the courts act to provide clear, consistent, and transparent rules for impeaching judges. Many people agree that without such rules, the system could be abused and justice may not be served fairly.