Mahama absent at swearing-in of Chief Justice Sophia Akufo

The swearing in ceremony of the chief justice, Sophia Akufo, saw the former president, John Dramani Mahama absent in attendance.

The swearing in of the head of the Supreme Court comes in the wake of the retirement of the former chief justice, Georgina Theodora Wood who until recently was appointed by the president as a member of the council of state.

This event, which was purely of a class of state officials, saw the former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor attend together with other key state officials as the speaker of parliament, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, all justices of the court and some former presidential candidates including Ivor Greenstreet of the CPP.

The absence of John Mahama was clearly felt throughout the event but YEN learns that the former president, who was invited, could have been engaged in other equally important activities outside the shores of Ghana.

“The former president John Mahama, as we may say in our language, is absent from jurisdiction,” Nana Addo teased in his speech after the swearing in of the chief justice.

Meanwhile, the chief justice, Sophia Akufo says she is committed to ensuring that the Supreme Court regains its integrity in the country.

She takes over from Georgina Wood as the second ever woman to have taken the top role as chief justice.