'If I had to do it again, I would do it' - Sophia Akuffo on joining DDEP protest

Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has stated that if given the opportunity to express her anger over issues affecting the country, she would gladly do so again.

According to her, based on her upbringing, she cannot remain silent when there are problems in the country. She emphasised that she would always voice out her concerns.

Her comments follow her controversial picketing against the government in 2023, under the leadership of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, over the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

Speaking in an interview on Joy News on February 26, 2026, Akuffo said she would gladly participate in any form of protest if it was against unlawful actions that affected citizens.

“You don’t sit there and just let unlawful things be done and if you feel strongly about it and there’s no one to listen to you, you shout it out,” she said.

The former head of the judiciary was seen holding a placard in 2023 that read, “We use our bond yields to pay our rent, medical bills, electricity bills and water bills.”

She had joined retirees demanding a total exemption from the controversial DDEP for their investments.

Former Chief Justice details how she joined protest against Akufo-Addo’s govt

Akuffo explained that she was not part of the decision-making process that imposed “haircuts” on bondholders.

“First and foremost, I wasn’t there in that boardroom when that decision was made to give people haircuts, whether they liked it or not. But even if I had been and I had disagreed and despite my strenuous position, it went ahead to the extent that I think it’s wrong and that it’s in the interest of the public to know that it’s wrong yes, I would have come out and done it.”

She insisted that her actions were a matter of principle.

“So, it’s something which I always say, if I had to do it again, I would do it. Maybe it’s my home upbringing or how I understood my legal education. You don’t sit there and just let unlawful things be done and if you feel strongly about it and there’s no one to listen to you, you shout it out.”

Akuffo further revealed how she joined the protest, “Fortunately, I saw that there were some people picketing and I saw somebody I knew on that picket line. I phoned her and said, was it you I saw? She said, yes. And I said, okay, are you going again? She said, yes.’ I said, Can I join? And so, I went.”

AM

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