Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has resigned from Ghana’s Council of State, ending her tenure on the country’s highest presidential advisory body.
Akuffo, who led the judiciary from 2017 to 2020, is understood to have submitted her resignation last year. She has not attended any Council of State meetings since, including the most recent session held three days ago, where she was again absent.
Neither Akuffo nor the Presidency has commented on the development, and the circumstances surrounding her decision have not been publicly disclosed.
Her exit follows a turbulent period in which she emerged as a dissenting voice in one of Ghana’s most consequential judicial crises. When the Council of State voted in April 2025 on whether a prima facie case had been established against then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, 30 of its 31 members voted in favour. Akuffo was the sole abstention.
She subsequently appeared before the Article 146 committee at the request of the suspended Chief Justice herself to testify in Torkornoo’s defence.
In an interview in September 2025, Akuffo publicly criticised the proceedings, arguing that Torkornoo had not received a fair hearing. She described the process as a “treason trial,” warned that it had weakened the judiciary, and contended that the allegations against Torkornoo lacked the gravity required to justify removing the head of a justice institution. The remarks drew sharp backlash.
The Council of State is a constitutional body mandated to advise the President on matters of national importance.
