Ghana's president suspends the chief justice of the country's top court in a surprise move

ACCRA, Ghana — The president of Ghana has suspended the chief justice of the country's Supreme Court, the government said, days after an investigation was launched against her. The surprise move drew outrage from the opposition.

The announcement from Ghanian President John Mahama about the suspension of Judge Gertrude Torkornoo came in a press statement on Tuesday that offered no details or explanation.

The Associated Press could not immediately contact government officials or the judge for comment.

The announcement followed an initial investigation against Torkornoo based on three petitions that have not been made public. The suspension marks the first time since Ghana's 1992 constitution that a Supreme Court chief justice has been suspended.

Mahama, who started his political career as communication minister, was sworn in as Ghana's president for a third term in January, after winning the presidential election late last year. The December vote for president and parliament was seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups.

Mahama had pledged to tackle the country's economic crisis — the worst in a generation — as well as corruption and unemployment. The 66-year-old was previously Ghana's president between July 2012 and January 2017. He was first sworn in when then-President John Evans Atta Mills died in July 2012. He served the rest of that term and then won an election later the same year.

The opposition New Patriotic Party blasted Torkornoo's suspension and threatened to protest the ruling, party official Henry Nana Boakye told reporters at a news conference.

Boakye said suspending Torkornoo went against the law and promised that the opposition would not rest without taking action.

''The president should adhere to the rules and principles of the law by allowing due process to follow before he can even carry on with the politically motivated activity,'' Boakye said Wednesday.

The party's secretary-general, Justin Fimpong-Kodua, accused Mahama of an "unprecedented attack on judicial independence and a blatant violation of Ghana's constitution,'' and called for the immediate reinstatement of Torkornoo.

''This is not the democracy Ghana wishes for and as a country that has gone through several elections, there should be progression, not retrogression," he said. The president's action is "not just absurd but also repugnant and unconstitutional.''

Director H Kwasi Prempeh of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development Ghana, a think tank, expressed concerns about the dismissal of the judge and called for increased transparency and institutional reform.

Even if the other Supreme Court justices had decided in favor of dismissing Torkornoo, this would violate the law as she is their ''boss'' and they "are likely to have an interest in the outcome,'' Prempeh said.