On December 31, 1963 Kwame Nkrumah announced that a constitutional referendum would be held which would formally make Ghana a one party state and give the president the right to dismiss judges of the Supreme Court and High Court at anytime. This news followed in the wake of the trial in which Ako Adjei and Tawia Adamafio were acquitted of charges of conspiring to commit treason.
In explaining the dismissal in groomer said: “the judges of the special court by their failure to take me into confidence meant to create discontent and terror throughout the country. You, the people of Ghana, has made me the conscience of the nation. My duty is not only to govern but is the conscience of the people by giving them peace of mind and tranquility. The nation cannot tolerate a dishonest and corrupt judiciary. I want to assure you know that there is the possibility of a retrial of the persons involved in this particular case, depending on the results of certain investigations now in progress”.
Further reading: Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa
edited by James Smoot Coleman, Carl Gustav Rosber