Judges have a difficult job, I don’t envy them – Tsatsu Tsikata

Tsatsu Tsikata, the lead counsel for the petitioner in the 2020 elections has expressed his appreciation for the demanding job of being a judge in the country.

Tsatsu who grew up with a dream of being a judge has had to shelve his childhood dream to focus on being a lawyer.

This decision is borne by two things, with the first being his passion in oil and gas and the other being what he considers to be the difficult job of being a judge.

“I’m quite glad I didn’t become a judge for the simple reason that I have actually moved in a number of directions that is sought of not strictly legal practice.

“For instance, in oil and gas, which started off from the law angle but became a broader oil and gas international experience, and frankly that has been the passion of my life for the last 30 to 40 years.

“It is still connected with the law and I get the chance to do law things. And frankly, judges also have a tough job so I don’t envy them at all,” he said.

Tsatsu also revealed that by the age of nine, he had made up his mind to be a lawyer.

“My uncle Justice Akpaloo fascinated me into law. By the time I did my scholarship interview to go to Mfantsipim, I was already telling the interviewers that my aim was to be a lawyer and ultimately to be a judge. Most of the interviewers were startled by the ambition of this little boy,” he added.

Tsatsu who was also imprisoned under the Kufuor administration for causing financial loss to the state also spoke about why he rejected a pardon by President Kufuor.

“I think I said it nicely. I wrote him a letter on my hospital [bed] and I said I will not accept his pardon, and I wouldn’t accept it. By then, I already had an appeal pending against the decision that had been taken. I wanted to be vindicated, not pardoned. When you are pardoned it means that your conviction still stands but the penalty has been wiped away.”