The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, yesterday charged the new Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, to be an effective leader, bring honour to the Judiciary and guard jealously its independence.
“I expect decency, discipline, fairness, hard work, deep seated respect for the rule of law, and the continuing modernisation of the Judicial activities to be the hall mark of his era as Chief Justice,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo made these remarks when he swore into office, Justice Anin Yeboah as the country’s 14th Chief Justice at a colourful ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
According to the President, he was confident that Justice Anin Yeboah would be a reliable partner of the Judiciary to ensure that the Executive and Judiciary worked in the spirit of mutual respect to entrench good governance.
President Akufo-Addo promised to help address the infrastructural challenges of the Judiciary to the satisfactory functioning of the courts.
President Akufo-Addo said his nomination of Justice Anin Yeboah as Chief Justice, which was in consultation with the Council of State and subsequent approval of Parliament, was not a difficult decision due to his considerable experience on the bench and appealed to members of the Judiciary and the public to support him to succeed.
Justice Anin Yeboah in response swore to protect and defend the integrity of the Constitution and pledged to perform his duties without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
He also promised to address the infrastructural challenges at the courts, issues with legal education, among other contemporary challenges in the Judiciary.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administered his Oaths of Office at a short colourful ceremony attended by former President J.J Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, and former President John Agyekum Kufour.
Also present were Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Judicary, among other dignitaries.
Chief Justice Anin Yeboah took over from Justice Sophia Akuffo, who retired on her 70th birthday on December 20, 2019.
He has 17 years experience at the bench, initially in the High Court, then at the Court of Appeal, and finally at the Supreme Court.
After graduating from law school, he served as an Assistant State Attorney at the Office of the Attorney General at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
He has also served as the President of the Eastern Regional Bar Association.
He served as a High Court Judge from 2002 to 2003, became an Appeal Court Judge from 2003 to 2008 and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008.
Currently, Chair of the Governing Board of the Legal Aid Commission, Chief Justice Anin Yeboah has also served as the Chair of the Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA.
In 2016, he was first selected to be a member of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, and in May 2017, elected Chair of FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.
In a related development, former President Jerry John Rawlings has congratulated Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah on his appointment as the Chief Justice of the country.
In a tweet posted yesterday, he said “Congratulations to Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah on the occasion of his swearing-in as the 14th Chief Justice by President Akufo-Addo today.”
BY YAW KYEI
