Akufo-Addo swears in five Appeals Court judges

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday swore-in five Appeals Court judges, restating his call on the Judiciary to support the work of the Special Prosecutor to stem corruption in the country.

With the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu, having been sworn into office to ensure accountability of public officials, past and present, who engaged in acts of corruption and financial malfeasance, “it is my expectation that you would help facilitate the work of this Office,” he said.

The judges include Justice Nicholas Charles Abbey Agbevor, Justice Alex Berchie Poku-Acheampong, Justice Anthony Kwadwo Yeboah, Justice Merley Afua Wood, and Justice Amma Abuakwa Gaisie (former Solicitor-General).

At a short ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra, President Akufo-Addo, administered the Judicial, Secrecy and Allegiance oaths, and later presented the judges with a scroll, which is a symbol of their instrument of office.

This is the first time the President, since his assumption to the highest office of the land, is appointing judges to the superior courts of adjudicature.

He reminded the judges of their oaths to dispense justice and apply the laws of the land without fear or favour, affection or ill will, and without recourse to the political, religious or ethnic affiliation of any citizen.

President Akufo-Addo told the new justices that it was important to bear in mind that “the growth of our nation demands that we have a judiciary that commands the respect of the people by the nature of its delivery of justice and by the comportment of its judges.”

“It is vitally important that we have judges who are honest, possess integrity, and a sound knowledge of the law,” he said.

“When one falls foul of the law, we expect that they must be dealt with accordingly, and the law enforcement agencies, including you at the Appeals Court, must ensure this is done.”

The President was emphatic that the Judiciary ought to restore dignity and re-establish confidence in that arm of government, saying, “we cannot forget the recent dramatic expose of corruption in the Judiciary, we have still not lived out the trauma of the excruciating embarrassment of seeing officers of our courts in such compromising situations.”

“Your actions with the strict application of the laws of the land would help in this regard,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo restated his administration’s determination to building a new civilization.

“…Where the rule of law was not a slogan but an operating principle for the development of our state, where the separation of powers is real and meaningful, where public officials behave with honesty and integrity and where the liberties and rights of our people are fully protected, and where law and order provide a firm basis for social and economic development, so that the dreams of freedom and prosperity that animated the great patriots who founded our nation can find expression in our generation,” he said.

He called on the public sector, the security agencies, the private sector, political parties, civil society, religious bodies and the traditional authorities, irrespective of their differences, to work together for the good Ghana.

“It is a collective enterprise to which we should all commit ourselves in unity and in sincerity…for my part, I have unshakable faith in the boundless prospects of the Ghanaian people and in Ghana’s future,’ he said.