Late Chief Justice to be given State burial

Accra, April 12, GNA - The late Chief Justice, Mr Justice George Kingsley Acquah should be honoured with state burial and funeral on Friday April 27, President John Agyekum Kufuor, has directed.

This would be held at the forecourt of the Parliament House. He gave the directive when a delegation of the bereaved family led by the Nifahene of the Nkusukum Traditional Area, Nana Baah VII, called on him at the Castle, Osu to officially inform him of Justice Acquah's death and burial arrangements.

In attendance were the Chairman and some members of the Council of State, Supreme Court Justices and senior Government Ministers. President Kufuor stated that Ghana has lost a Chief Servant and would therefore ensure that he was seen off with a fitting funeral. He paid glowing tribute to the late Chief Justice, describing him as a principled and great man of distinction, who understood the fine balance of the rights of the individual and the State. "We are missing him solely. Government pays its condolences to the widow, children and family."

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, earlier, said, Chief Justice Acquah, a lawyer of many sides, was a "pillar, indeed an independent pillar" of the Judiciary. The deceased, he said, was not only concerned about the rights of individuals but also access to criminal justice. He was a fair and firm judge.

Mr Ghartey said the number of reforms and projects, Justice Acquah initiated has put the Judiciary on the path of transformation. The late Chief Justice died on Sunday, March 25, this year, at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. He was 65.