A Ghanaian citizen, Samuel Bryan Buabeng, has filed a writ at the Supreme Court challenging President John Mahama’s’s failure to appoint a former Chief Justice to replace retired Justice Sophia Akuffo on the Council of State.
According to The Law Platform, the writ, filed on September 7, 2026, invokes the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and argues that the continued vacancy raises questions about the constitutional composition of the Council of State.
Justice Sophia Akuffo resigned as a member of the Council of State in September 2025.
Buabeng is asking the apex court to declare that President Mahama’s alleged failure or refusal to appoint a former Chief Justice to fill the vacancy created by Justice Akuffo’s resignation amounts to a violation of the 1992 Constitution.
The plaintiff, through his lawyer, Jonathan Asare is relying on Articles 89(1) and 89(2)(a)(i) of the Constitution.
He is seeking a declaration that “upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 89(1) and (2)(a)(i) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted and continues to act unconstitutionally by refusal or failure to appoint a former Chief Justice to replace Chief Justice (Retired) Sophia Akuffo who resigned as a member of the Council of State in September 2025.”
Buabeng is also asking the Supreme Court to direct the President to begin the process of filling the vacancy.
Specifically, he wants the court to order President Mahama, pursuant to Article 89(2)(a)(i), to consult Parliament within 14 days and appoint a former Chief Justice to the Council of State within 48 hours after the consultation.
The plaintiff contends that the failure to fill the position since Justice Akuffo’s resignation has constitutional implications for the proper constitution of the Council of State.
The case therefore puts before the Supreme Court the question of whether the president is constitutionally obliged to fill the specific vacancy created by the resignation of a former Chief Justice, and whether the delay in doing so constitutes an unconstitutional omission.
Sophia Akuffo, who led the Judiciary from 2017 to 2020, resigned from the Council of State in September 2025.
