A legend goes home
Gilbert Boyefio
28/04/2007
President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday paid a glowing tribute to the 11th Chief Justice of Ghana since independence, the late Justice George Kinsley Acquah, at his funeral at the Forecourt of the State House in Accra.
Notable among the dignitaries that attended the state burial were President Kufour; the First Lady, Elizabeth Kufour; the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama; the Second Lady, Hajia Ramatu Aliu Mahama ; and the Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes.
Others were the Former Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey, Members of the Council of States and Ministers of State.
Also in attendance were Justices of the Supreme Court, Appeal Court and the High Court, and the Former Vice President, Professor Evans Attah Mills.
In a tribute read on his behalf by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, President Kufuor described the late Justice Acquah as a dedicated, hardworking and an achiever. He said the late CJ brought his rich experience and passion for human rights to bear on the judiciary, thereby transforming it to its present great heights.
Preaching at the funeral, the Archbishop of the Province of West Africa and the Bishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Justice Ofei Akrofi, said the late CJ served the Church as a Priest, because he was in the Ordination Track, having studied Theology at the Trinity Theological Seminary.
He remarked that if every Christian would bring their Christian influence to bear on their secular professions like Justice Acquah did, the world would be a better place in which to live, since Christianity was not only about worship in the Church on Sundays.
He noted that when good men die their good work and deeds do not perish, but bad people perish with their deeds. "How will posterity remember you, would it be as one who has done the masters will or the opposite?" he queried mourners.
Most Reverend Akrofi used the occasion to make an alter call to the mourners.
Other tributes from the Judiciary, the legislature, the Ghana Bar Association and the Anglican Communion were read in the memory of the late CJ.
Justice Acquah passed away Sunday, March 25, at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. He had been battling against Leukaemia, a cancer of the blood or bone marrow, for some years. He left behind a wife, and six children.
Mr Acquah was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana on June 20, 2003.
He was born in Sekondi on March 6, 1942 and attended Adisadel College, Cape Coast, from 1957 to 1963 for both his West African Examination Council Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates.
He proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon in 1964 to 1967 and obtained a BA (Hons) Philosophy. Between 1968 and 1970, he studied and obtained LL.B. Hons in Law from the same University.
From 1970 to 1972, Justice Acquah entered the Ghana Law School where he obtained his Professional Certificate in Law and was called to the Bar in 1972.
His employment record included private Legal Practice from 1972 to 1989; High Court Judge from 1989 to 1994; Appeal Court Judge from 1994 to 1995 and Supreme Court Judge from 1995 to date.
Justice Acquah was the Chairman, 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.
He was a Member of the Governing Council of the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation; Patron, 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) Ghana Law School.
28/04/2007
President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday paid a glowing tribute to the 11th Chief Justice of Ghana since independence, the late Justice George Kinsley Acquah, at his funeral at the Forecourt of the State House in Accra.
Notable among the dignitaries that attended the state burial were President Kufour; the First Lady, Elizabeth Kufour; the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama; the Second Lady, Hajia Ramatu Aliu Mahama ; and the Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes.
Others were the Former Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey, Members of the Council of States and Ministers of State.
Also in attendance were Justices of the Supreme Court, Appeal Court and the High Court, and the Former Vice President, Professor Evans Attah Mills.
In a tribute read on his behalf by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, President Kufuor described the late Justice Acquah as a dedicated, hardworking and an achiever. He said the late CJ brought his rich experience and passion for human rights to bear on the judiciary, thereby transforming it to its present great heights.
Preaching at the funeral, the Archbishop of the Province of West Africa and the Bishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Justice Ofei Akrofi, said the late CJ served the Church as a Priest, because he was in the Ordination Track, having studied Theology at the Trinity Theological Seminary.
He remarked that if every Christian would bring their Christian influence to bear on their secular professions like Justice Acquah did, the world would be a better place in which to live, since Christianity was not only about worship in the Church on Sundays.
He noted that when good men die their good work and deeds do not perish, but bad people perish with their deeds. "How will posterity remember you, would it be as one who has done the masters will or the opposite?" he queried mourners.
Most Reverend Akrofi used the occasion to make an alter call to the mourners.
Other tributes from the Judiciary, the legislature, the Ghana Bar Association and the Anglican Communion were read in the memory of the late CJ.
Justice Acquah passed away Sunday, March 25, at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. He had been battling against Leukaemia, a cancer of the blood or bone marrow, for some years. He left behind a wife, and six children.
Mr Acquah was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana on June 20, 2003.
He was born in Sekondi on March 6, 1942 and attended Adisadel College, Cape Coast, from 1957 to 1963 for both his West African Examination Council Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates.
He proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon in 1964 to 1967 and obtained a BA (Hons) Philosophy. Between 1968 and 1970, he studied and obtained LL.B. Hons in Law from the same University.
From 1970 to 1972, Justice Acquah entered the Ghana Law School where he obtained his Professional Certificate in Law and was called to the Bar in 1972.
His employment record included private Legal Practice from 1972 to 1989; High Court Judge from 1989 to 1994; Appeal Court Judge from 1994 to 1995 and Supreme Court Judge from 1995 to date.
Justice Acquah was the Chairman, 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.
He was a Member of the Governing Council of the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation; Patron, 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) Ghana Law School.
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