Some members of the public have once again accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of attempting to pack the courts of Ghana with members of his party – the New Patriotic Party (NPP), following his reported latest nomination of justices for the Court of Appeal.
According to the dailyguidenetwork.com, a total of 20 persons, including 12 High Court judges and 8 prominent legal practitioners, have been reportedly shortlisted for appointment as justices of the Court of Appeal of Ghana.
The president faced similar criticism particularly from members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), including former President John Dramani Mahama, during his previous appointments of people to the Bench.
It is important to note that appointments to the Court of Appeal are made by the president in consultation with the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB), which is headed by the Chief Justice of Ghana.
Section 3 of Article 136 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that “A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Justice of the Court of Appeal unless he is of high moral character and proven integrity and is of not less than twelve years’ standing as a lawyer.”
This GhanaWeb article looks at a brief profile of the lawyers who have been reportedly nominated for appointment as justices of the Court of Appeal.
Mariam Agyeman Gyasi Jawhary
Lawyer Mariam Agyeman Gyasi Jawhary is the Managing Partner of the Totoe Legal Service and has been a lawyer in good standing for over 30 years.
Gyasi Jawhary’s profile on the website of her firm indicates that her areas of expertise include conveyancing, land litigation, family law, corporate and commercial, as well as labour law.
She is said to have previously worked as a part-time lecturer at the Ghana School of Law, teaching Law of Evidence, Labour Law and Conveyancing and Drafting. She also worked as an Administrator /Mediator for the Kumasi Legal Aid Centre for FIDA-GHANA on a volunteer basis for 6 years, between 1997 and 2003, while still engaged in active legal practice.
She has also held several positions at the Ghana Bar Association, including National Assistant Secretary of the association for 6 years (2012 to 2018), member of the National Bar Council, member of the Executive Committee of the Ashanti Branch of the association, and the representative association on the Ashanti Regional Lands Commission for 8 years (2009 to 2018).
Yaa Onyameye Gyakobo
Yaa Onyameye Gyakobo was called to the Bar in 1994, meaning she has been a practising lawyer for about 30 years.
She is a Senior Associate at the Ansah-Obiri Legal Consult. She previously worked as the Legal Officer on the Divestiture Implementation Committee; as an Associate for Wuowoti Chambers, Vidal Buckle & co, and as an Associate for Ayawaso Chambers, Amarteifio & Co.
Onyameye Gyakobo is currently the Assistant Secretary of the Ghana Bar Association. She has held numerous positions in the association, including National Assistant Public Relations officer, Financial and Social Security Head of Greater Accra Regional Bar, and a member of the GBA Electoral Committee.
Charles William Zwennes
Charles William Zwennes is the Head of Chambers at Gaisie Zwennes Hughes & Co. His LinkedIn profile shows that he has been a partner of the law firm since 1996.
He is the Master of Chambers at Barrister-at-Law of England & Wales, and a Barrister & Solicitor of the Superior Courts of Ghana.
Charles Zwennes is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration, London. He holds a professional certificate in Petroleum and Energy Law from the University of Dundee; an LL.M in Company Law and International Finance Law from UCL and an LL.B in law from the University of Kent.
Yaw Oppong
Yaw Oppong is the Director of Legal Education at the Ghana School of Law (GSL). He is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana and the Managing Partner of Ampofo, Oppong and Associates.
He has lectured at several universities in Ghana, including Central University. Currently, he is a senior lecturer at the Ghana School of Law.
Yaw Oppong obtained a first degree in law at the University of Ghana and successfully qualified as a Barrister-at-Law from the Ghana School of Law, Makola – Accra, Ghana. He holds a Master’s Degree in Oil and Gas Law (LLM) from the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.
Nathan Parker Yarney
Nathan Parker Yarney was called to the Ghana Bar in October 1999, which means that he has been a practising lawyer for about 25 years.
Nathan Parker Yarney is a lawyer and mediator at Kobaka Chambers, a practice he started in October 2006. Before starting his practice, Nathan worked as a lawyer at Paintsil, Paintsil & Co and Ama Harding Chambers.
He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Banking Law from Queen Mary and Westfield College (Now Queen Mary University of London) as well as an LL.M (ADR) from the University of Ghana. He also holds an LLB (Hons) degree from the Ghana School of Law, Accra.
David Acheampong Boafo
David Boafo is a Senior Partner at S.K. Boafo and Company. His profile on the website of the firm (skboafoandcompany.org) states that he enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers in 2000 and has considerable experience in Commercial litigation and practice.
Boafo has had experience in many high-end projects in the Construction, Real Estate, Property and Renewable Energy sectors. He also has vast experience in Land tenure rights
He has worked with MIDA, the World Bank, International NGOs, the Lands Commission, and various Traditional Authorities.
Francis Koffie
Francis Koffie is a Managing Partner at Koffie & Partners (Law Conclave) Lawyers and a lecturer at the Ghana School of Law.
Francis Koffie is the President of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).
He holds a law degree from the Ghana School of Law.
He previously served on the five-member committee set up by the government to probe the fire that gutted the Kejetia Market in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region in March 2023.
Dr Poku Adusei
Dr Poku Adusei is the head of legal for the National Communications Authority. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 2003, meaning he has about 21 years of experience as a lawyer.
He previously held positions such as Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority between September 2017 and March 2019.
He has also previously served as a lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, where he taught Intellectual Property Law, Private International Law, Company Law and Land Law.
He holds a Ph.D. in law from McGill University in Canada. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) Degree and a Qualified Certificate in Law.
