President John Dramani Mahama has received a total of ten separate petitions calling for the removal from office of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, and the top three officials of the Electoral Commission – Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa and her two deputies, Dr Bossman Eric Asare and Samuel Tettey.
Seven of the petitions target the EC leadership, while the remaining three seek the removal of the Special Prosecutor.
According to a Graphic Online report, all ten petitions have been filed under the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions and have been forwarded by the President to the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, for the determination of whether they establish a prima facie case.
The petitions against Jean Mensa, Dr Bossman Asare (Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services), and Samuel Tettey (Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations) invoke Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which governs the removal of superior court justices and persons holding equivalent offices.
Under the Constitution, the EC Chairperson enjoys conditions of service equivalent to a Justice of the Court of Appeal, while the two Deputy Chairpersons have conditions equivalent to Justices of the High Court.
Their removal therefore follows the same rigorous process applicable to superior court judges: stated misbehaviour, incompetence, or incapacity due to infirmity of body or mind.
Once a petition is received, the President refers it to the Chief Justice. If the Chief Justice finds a prima facie case, a five-member committee – comprising three superior court justices or regional tribunal chairmen and two non-lawyer eminent persons – is constituted to investigate.
The proceedings are held in camera, and the official is entitled to defend themselves personally or through counsel. The President is bound to act on the committee’s final recommendation.
The three petitions against Kissi Agyebeng are brought under Section 15 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959). Grounds for removal include stated misbehaviour, incompetence, incapacity, wilful violation of oaths, or conduct that brings the office into disrepute or harms the economy or security of the State.
The law imposes strict timelines: the President must refer any such petition to the Chief Justice within seven days.
The Chief Justice then has 30 days to determine prima facie merit. If a case is established, a committee must be set up within 14 days and complete its investigation within 90 days.
As with the EC process, the President is constitutionally obliged to follow the committee’s recommendation.
Neither the Presidency nor the Office of the Chief Justice has officially commented on the contents of the petitions or the identities of the petitioners have also not been made public at this stage.
The development comes barely eleven months into President Mahama’s second term and the controversial removal of Gertrude Araba Sackey Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo from office as Chief Justice by the president.
She was removed after a committee set up by the president to investigate a similar petition brought against her, recommended her removal her removal for stated misbehavior.