Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has resigned from Ghana’s Council of State, ending her tenure on the constitutional body that advises the President on matters of national importance.
Sources familiar with the matter say Akuffo submitted her resignation last year and has not attended any Council of State meetings since then.
Neither Akuffo nor the Presidency has publicly commented on the resignation, and the reasons behind her decision remain unclear.
Her departure comes after a period of heightened public attention surrounding the removal process of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
In April 2025, when the Council of State considered whether a prima facie case had been established against Torkornoo, 30 of the 31 members voted in favour.
Akuffo was the only member who abstained, although she did not publicly explain her decision.
She later appeared voluntarily before the Article 146 committee investigating Torkornoo, at the request of the suspended Chief Justice, to testify in her defence.
Akuffo subsequently voiced concerns about the process, arguing in a September 2025 interview that Torkornoo had not received a fair hearing.
She described the proceedings as a “treason trial” and said they had weakened the judiciary.
She further argued that the allegations against Torkornoo “lack the gravity that will lead to a grave outcome such as the removal of the head of an institution of justice”.
Her comments sparked criticism from some legal and political figures.
Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, accused her of breaching her oath of secrecy as a Council of State member.
President John Mahama signed the warrant for Torkornoo’s removal on September 1, 2025.
Akuffo is one of Ghana’s most distinguished jurists. She served on the Supreme Court for more than two decades before becoming the country’s 13th Chief Justice and only the second woman to hold the position after Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.
She also served as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and held several senior positions within Ghana’s judiciary.
Her time on the Council of State also attracted public attention in 2023 when she joined pensioner groups protesting aspects of the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, arguing that retirees should not shoulder an unfair burden in the country’s economic recovery efforts.
No official announcement has been made regarding her replacement on the Council of State.
