Ex-Chief Justice’s Ouster: Newsfile Host Warns Attacks on Judiciary Hurt Investor Confidence, Economy.
Samson Lardy Anyenini, the host of JoyNews’ Newsfile, has said that the removal of Ghana’s former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo had effects that went beyond the courts.
He said that “attacks” on institutions that are constitutionally independent could hurt the economy.
On Tuesday, December 30, Mr. Anyenini took part in discussions on JoyNews’ 2025 Year in Review. He said that the strength and credibility of state institutions, especially the judiciary, are closely linked to how well the economy is doing.
“It’s easy to only think about the economy, but there are many factors and sectors that help build the economy you want.” He said, “Trust in institutions is one of them.”
The private lawyer says that the perception of judicial independence is very important for building investor confidence and keeping the economy growing. This is similar to how strong cybersecurity is important for confidence in digital systems.
Mr. Anyenini said that mobile money, electronic payments, national identification systems, and e-governance are all becoming more important to Ghana’s economy. All of these things depend on trust in institutions.
“Strong cybersecurity makes people trust your digital systems more. He said, “In the same way, if people think the judiciary is under attack or not independent, it hurts the economy.”
He said that the way the former Chief Justice was removed was concerning, especially since the Constitution says that the judiciary must work independently of the executive and legislature.
Mr. Anyenini said that he fully understood how serious the processes were for removing heads of independent constitutional bodies because he had personally been involved in Article 146 proceedings.
He said that even though many accusations were made against her, only a few of them became the focus of public debate. Some of these were about how she had run things in the past.
