Parliament has at a marathon sitting, unanimously approved the nomination of Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah as the next Chief Justice of Ghana, to succeed Justice Sophia Akuffo who retired on December 20, 2019.
“We wish him all the very best,” Speaker of Parliament Professor Michael Ocquaye said after a late night viva voce Monday.
He is likely to be sworn into office today, December 24, 2019 by President Nana Akufo-Addo who nominated him for the position.
Justice Anin-Yeboah becomes the 14th Chief Justice of Ghana and the first male Chief Justice in 12 years.
After long hours of vetting Monday, the Appointments Committee of Parliament by a consensus, recommended to the House to approve Supreme Court judge as the new Chief Justice for based on his competence, independence of though and forthrightness.
“The Committee observe that given his high standard of competence and integrity, forthrightness, astuteness and in-depth application of the law …and the independence of thought of the nominee, his lordship Justice Anin Yeboah qualifies to serve as the chief justice of the republic,” chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu said.
Moving the motion to present the report of the Committee to the House late Monday night, Mr Owusu said Justice Anin-Yeboah’s “demeanour and composure” at the vetting portrays him as
“a calm and tolerance person”.
In the Committee’s view, he is a judge who is inclined to administer justice fairly to the development of the Ghana.
Based on these attributes and qualities, he said “the committee is satisfied that the nomination of Justice Anin-Yeboah … [and] accordingly, recommends by consensus to the house for approval”.
Seconding the motion, Member of the Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka observed the nominee has “deep experience in what helps doing”
He however was not satisfied with some of the answers given by the nominee regarding his role at CAF and FIFA.
“There were few answers he gave I thought that as a country we need to engage our thought around them. One has to do with his role at CAF and FIFA” he stated.
He underscored the need for the judiciairy to look critically at allowing judges to engage in such private ventures which he said the constitution prohibits
Background
Justice Anin-Yeboah is currently the fourth longest serving Supreme Court judge after justices Sophia Akuffo, Julius Ansah and Jones Mawulom Dotse.
The names of Justice Anin-Yeboah and Justice Dotse were tabled before President Akufo-Addo to be considered for the highest judicial job in the country, but he settled on former after a careful consideration.
His nomination was done in accordance with Article 144 (1) of the 1992 Constitution, which states:
“The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President, acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.”
Justice Anin-Yeboah graduated from the Ghana School of Law in 1981 and worked as an advocate for nearly 20 years before was appointed a High Court judge 2001.
In 2003 was promoted to the Court of Appeal where he spent five years before being promoted again to the Supreme Court in 2008.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana