I expected Akoto Ampaw to condemn the challenges in the country – Nyaho-Tamakloe

A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, in his reaction to the demise of the late human rights lawyer, Akoto Ampaw, noted that he expected him [Lawyer Ampaw] to have spoken on the challenges confronting the country under the current government while he was alive.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, who described the late Akoto Ampaw as a true human rights lawyer, expressed his surprise at the late lawyer’s silence on the current state of Ghana before his passing.

“What really amazes me about Akoto Ampaw in his later years is why he stood so quietly and did not complain or talk about what this country is going through at the moment. I expected Akoto Ampaw to talk strongly against it but he didn’t, even though we were all colleagues, himself, Kwasi Pratt and Akufo-Addo himself. The Akoto Ampaw as I knew him should have come out boldly to condemn some of the atrocities and challenges that this country is facing at the moment but for reasons best known to him he was quiet and I was really surprised,” he said.

Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe further indicated that the death of Lawyer Ampaw came to him as a surprise.

Having known Akoto Ampaw for over four decades and having engaged in various political activities together, Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe recounted how they were both involved in the 'Kume Preko' demonstration back in 1995, organised in protest against the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) policy by the then Rawlings administration.

“His death came to me as a shock. Honestly, I have not heard that Akoto had not been well or anything.

“I have known him for close to forty years, and we have been in a lot of political activities and events together. He was a great activist and a true human rights lawyer but quite recently, when a young man who organised some of his protests was being harassed, he came out boldly,” he added

Akoto Ampaw, a veteran Ghanaian lawyer and human rights activist, passed away on Friday, October 20, after a brief illness.

He was widely recognised for his role as part of the New Patriotic Party's legal team during the Electoral Petition of 2013 and for leading the legal defence of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's victory in the 2020 Presidential elections at the Supreme Court.

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