Petition Seeking Removal of Justice Yonny Kulendi Thrown Out
Chief Justice finds no prima facie case in allegations against Supreme Court judge
- President Mahama dismisses petition seeking Justice Yonny Kulendi’s removal.
- Chief Justice rules allegations fail to meet constitutional threshold.
- No further investigations to be conducted under Article 146(3).
President John Dramani Mahama, acting on the advice of the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has dismissed a petition calling for the removal of Justice Yonny Kulendi from the Supreme Court.
The decision was communicated in a letter dated December 4, 2025, signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama, and addressed to the petitioner, Daniel Marfo Ofori-Atta.
According to the letter, the President, in line with Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution, referred the petition to the Chief Justice on October 20, 2025, to determine whether it disclosed a prima facie case warranting further investigation.
However, in a response dated December 2, 2025, the Chief Justice advised that the petition failed to meet the required constitutional threshold. He concluded that no prima facie case had been established against Justice Kulendi.
Quoting the Chief Justice’s assessment, the letter stated that the petitioner’s own evidence undermined the allegations. The claims that Justice Kulendi abused his office to secure bail for his cousin, Richard Jakpa, or attempted to improperly influence the outcome of a case were described as distortions of the record and unsupported by credible evidence.
“In the circumstances, the petition fails to disclose any evidentiary basis upon which a prima facie finding can be properly grounded,” the Chief Justice determined, adding that no further action was required.
Dr. Mahama therefore informed the petitioner that the matter had been concluded. The development was later confirmed publicly by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, in a social media post.
Background
Mr. Ofori-Atta submitted the petition to President Mahama on October 2, 2025, following an earlier complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service. He sought investigations into Justice Kulendi and his cousin, Richard Jakpa, over alleged attempts to interfere with the administration of justice.
The allegations arose from the high-profile trial Republic v Cassiel Ato Forson & Two Others, in which Mr. Jakpa, the Director of Operations at the National Security Secretariat, was the third accused.
Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi was appointed to the Supreme Court on May 26, 2020, alongside Professor Henrietta J. A. N. Mensa-Bonsu, after parliamentary approval and was sworn in by then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
