Ghana's Chief Justice is dead

THE Chief Justice, Mr Justice George Kingsley Acquah, is dead.
Mr Justice Acquah, 65, died at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra at 1.00 a.m. on Sunday.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed but he was believed to have died from cancer.
The Chief Justice, who was taken ill about two years ago, was flown abroad on a number of occasions for medical treatment and resumed work before his health conditions deteriorated again.
He was flown down from the United States of America about three days ago and was on admission at the 37 Military Hospital.
Mr Justice Acquah was Ghana’s 11th Chief Justice after independence and was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana on July 4, 2003 to succeed Mr Justice E.K. Wiredu.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, who confirmed the death in a telephone conversation with the Daily Graphic, described it as a big loss to the country.
When the Daily Graphic visited the late Chief Justice’s residence on the Switchback Road, a Judicial Service security man said he had heard about the death on a radio station and that no family member was available for any comment.
Mr Justice Acquah’s employment record included private legal practice from 1972 to 1989; a High Court judge from 1989 to 1994; an Appeal Court judge from 1994 to 1995 and a Supreme Court judge from 1995 to 2003 when he was appointed Chief Justice.
He was born in Sekondi on March 6, 1942 and attended Adisadel College, Cape Coast, from 1957 to 1963 for both his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary and Advanced level certificates.
After his ‘A’ Levels, he taught at Sekondi College for one year before he proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon, from 1964 to 1967 where he obtained a B.A. (Hons) degree in Philosophy. Between 1968 and 1970, he studied and obtained an LL.B (Hons) degree in Law from the same university.
From 1970 to 1972, Justice Acquah was at the Ghana School of Law where he obtained his professional certificate in law and was called to the Bar in 1972.
He then went into private legal practice in Cape Coast until September 19, 1989 when he was elevated to the High Court and posted to Ho.
In June 1994, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal, and in the following year he was again elevated to the Supreme Court where he was until his appointment as the Chief Justice.
Mr Justice Acquah, until his death, was the Chairman of the Judicial Council and the General Legal Council; Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Service; Chairman, Judicial Service Reform and Automation Committee, and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of the Judicial Service of Ghana.
Other positions he held included Chairman, Disciplinary Committee of the Judicial Council; Chairman, Funeral Committee of the Judicial Service; Chairman, Tender Board of the Judicial Service, and Member of the Judicial Council of Ghana.
Mr Justice Acquah was also the Chairman, National Multi-Sectoral Committee on the Protection of the Rights of the Child; Member, Rules of Court Committee; Member, Appointments Committee of the Judicial Council, and Member, Africa Regional Council of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPFAR).
He was also a Member of the Governing Council of the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation; Patron, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, London; Honorary Legal Adviser of the International Planned Parenthood Federation; Editorial Advisor, Banking and Financial Law Journal of Ghana, and External Examiner (Law of Evidence), the Ghana School of Law.
He left behind his wife, Jane, and six children.
The death of the Chief Justice is a serious blow to the Judicial Service because since July 4, 2003 when Mr Justice Acquah assumed office, he had ensured that justice was delivered to all manner of persons without fear or favour. He also ensured that corruption in the service was minimised to enhance accountability.
Mr Justice Acquah, therefore, introduced a new system of revenue collection and the HFC Bank has provided a collection point for all court fees and fines from litigants and other court users.
That project, which commenced in June 2006, is expected to be extended to the regional courts. Another plus for the service is the Chief Justice’s outreach programme which was instituted to actively engage all Ghanaians in discussing the challenges facing the administration of justice at the local and district levels.
It was no surprise, therefore, that in June 2006, Mr Justice Acquah was awarded the highest honour of the land, the Order of the Star of Ghana, in recognition of his hard work, dynamic leadership, dedication to work and the many reforms which he had introduced to enhance the administration of justice in the country.