|
IT is very fitting and proper that
the Review should, with the
deepest regret, record the passing
away on 17 July 1979 of its
founder, the eminent, Mr. Justice
Edward Akufo-Addo, M.O.V., Hon.
LL.D. (Oxon.), M.A. (Oxon.), the
late Chief Justice of Ghana. At a
solemn and very impressive
ceremony at the Law Courts
Buildings, Accra, held on 5 May
1980, attended by members of the
Bench and Bar and other
distinguished guests, glowing
tributes were paid in honour of
the late Mr. Justice Akufo-Addo by
his lordship, the Chief Justice,
Mr. Justice F. K. Apaloo, M.V.,
C.V.; the Hon. Mr. Archie L.
Djabatey, Deputy Attorney-General
and Minister of Justice and Mr. W.
A. N. Adumua-Bossman, the then
President of the Ghana Bar
Association.
Tribute by the Chief Justice
We are gathered here this morning
in accordance with
well-established tradition to
recall to mind and pay tribute to
someone who used to be one of our
number and whose seat among us
today is empty. He was no less a
person than Edward Akufo-Addo.
The late and much lamented Edward
Akufo-Addo combined in himself
many of the qualities one would
wish to see in a mortal. It is not
easy to put him in one compartment
and attach a label to him. He was
a teacher, scholar, politician,
father, lawyer, judge and
statesman. One would have wished
that he were spared to remain on
this earth longer. But providence
wished otherwise. But he lived a
full life and long enough to leave
an indelible mark on this planet,
and he indeed left the world
better than he found it.
When he departed this life on 17
July 1979 he enjoyed his biblical
span of life—the three score and
ten years. Indeed having been born
in 1906, he exceeded his allotted
span by three years. To say this
is not to show lack of regret at
his passing.
It is not within my competence to
make any worthwhile appraisal of
the varied activities that he
engaged in. Persons better
qualified than myself will testify
to his contribution to teaching,
politics and the many other
spheres of activity that
punctuated his earthly life. I am
not, however, unmindful of the
fact that he was a founding member
of the United Gold Coast
Convention and with the late
President Nkrumah and Dr. Danquah
of blessed memory, was imprisoned
for his activities in that field.
For two years, that is 1950 and
1951, he was a member of the
Legislative Council. Although it
was for a short spell, I cannot
doubt that with his great debating
skill and gift of language, he
would have excelled in that area
of activity. The one great
constitutional commission that can
be said to be the forerunner of
our independence, was the Coussey
Commission for Constitutional
Reforms. He was thought fit to be
appointed to the membership of
that commission. And to it, he
ungrudgingly gave his services.
But the one area of his life about
which I can speak with a modicum
of authority, is the law. To say
that he was one of the greatest
advocates of his time, will be
nothing like exaggeration. His
eloquence and quickness of
perception, marked him out early
in his legal career as a force to
reckon with. That he made a real
success of forensic practice at
the Bar, is common knowledge. One
can recall him, locked in serious
legal argument with the legal
giants of his day, the Bossmans,
Hayfron-Benjamins, Asafu-Adjayes
all of whom, unfortunately, are no
more and Mr. Ollennu who is still,
happily, with us. It was
impossible to resist the feeling
that these were men of learning
and the expression "my learned
friend" by which, in the tradition
of the profession, they addressed
each other, was no empty epithet.
For a lawyer of his calibre,
elevation to the Bench was a
matter of course. To most lawyers,
that is the culmination of a
successful legal career. It came
in 1962 after he was in the law
for 22 years, having been called
to the Bar in 1940. Such honour
was deserved much earlier. That it
did not come to him quicker,
cannot be explained by want of
merit but by the political
alignment of the day. But when it
did arrive, its undue delay was
acknowledged because he made
history by being appointed
together with Lawyer R. S. Blay to
the then highest court of the land
namely, the Supreme Court,
by-passing the High Court in the
process. He was not destined to
remain long in that court because
ironical as it seems, one of the
treasured qualities of a judge
which he possessed and exhibited,
became his undoing. He had the
courage of his conviction and
spoke his mind firmly in a
judicial decision which displeased
the then power in the land. He was
dismissed in February, 1964,
having been on the Bench for less
than two years. But merit, like
cork, never remains submerged.
Just over two years afterwards, he
was returned to the Bench to fill
its highest office—Chief Justice.
He remained in that office till
August 1970 when he was invited to
occupy a still higher office—the
Presidency of Ghana.
On the whole, he occupied high
judicial office for just over five
years and did so with great
distinction. He was the very
embodiment of the common law. He
had a firm grasp of principle and
delighted in legal argument. He
enjoyed analysing the customary
law in depth and his quick
discerning mind enabled him to
reject such parts of it as were
out of keeping with modern notions
of justice. My impression is that
the time he enjoyed most on the
Bench, was sitting in the Court of
Appeal on the civil side
presumably, because of the variety
of cases on every subject and the
companionship of minds as quick
and alert as his own. His
judgments were scholarly and
well-reasoned and couched in a
felicity of language which few of
his fellow judges can hardly hope
to equal. In criminal cases, he
would stand no nonsense from
anyone. His firm features showed
the character of the man who would
uphold the law. As they say, he
would "clear the innocent and
convict and punish the guilty."
All respected him. Some feared
him. But none dare scorn him.
The law which he loved, was not
the only field of interest to him.
While on the Bench, he found time
to chair the Constitutional
Commission of 1967 and was the
moving spirit behind the 1969
Constitution. One eternal debt
which the Judiciary of Ghana owes
him, is the complete autonomy that
the 1969 Constitution granted to
that branch of government. It is
largely preserved in the 1979
Constitution. Recognition of merit
sometimes comes slowly but it is a
matter of some pride to his
judicial colleagues, that some of
these came while he was Chief
Justice. In 1968, he was awarded
the national honour of Membership
of the Order of the Volta.
Acknowledgment of his merit by his
alma mater followed the same year.
He was elected Honorary Fellow of
St. Peter's College, Oxford.
As a person, the late Akufo-Addo
was as charming as one could wish.
Respect for principles and strict
adherence to them, did not
entirely endear him to everyone.
Some dubbed him as a snub. He
certainly was not. True, he had no
truck with "cheats and frauds." He
can be stern when it comes to
handing down punishment. But he
was, by no means, cruel. Some
accused him of arrogance and
intolerance of other people's
views. The charge is unjust. I
accept that he was a militant
crusader of what he believed to be
right but he was always open to
persuasion. There were many
occasions in my experience when he
took counsel with his junior
colleagues and confessed to being
persuaded by them. But I concede
that anyone who wishes to convert
him to his point of view must do
so by superior reasoning. And it
is not often that he can be
outargued.
Some of us were privileged to see
the other part of his life—at home
with his wife whom he adored and
his darling children. Their
welfare was his dearest concern.
At the Bar, he was excellent
company, telling stories in zest
and showing his expert knowledge
of various brands of champagne,
the stockpiling and consumption of
which were, in his days, the
hall-mark of a successful legal
practitioner. He was ever
thoughtful of others, helping
those in need, sharing their joys
and troubles especially his junior
colleagues. Some think it strange
how one who was stern in the
public estimation should kindle
such affection in those close to
him. But he did so.
Although lawyers are not, as a
class profligates, moral rectitude
is not one of their strong points.
While I do not suggest that the
late Akufo-Addo was other than
human, he led the moral life which
many of his colleagues
unsuccessfully tried to emulate.
He was the very embodiment of
disciplined moral living. Part of
the credit for his moral
uprightness and exemplary married
life can be attributed to the
docility of his early Presbyterian
upbringing. He was raised at the
Theological Seminary at Akropong.
While I believe what he imbibed
there in his formative years
influenced his adult life, I think
he was innately upright. It is an
irony of fate that he should have
departed this life when our
society is undergoing a somewhat
violent transformation, the stated
rationale of which is said to be
moral revolution. If he had lived,
he would not have grudged us his
opinion as to which of today's
goings-on he approves and which he
disapproves.
Having devoted a substantial part
of his life to public service, it
was not surprising that he should
have been asked by his countrymen
to fill the post of the highest
honour. On 31 August 1970, he was
elected President of the Second
Republic of Ghana. In view of his
background and training, his
talents and achievements, he was
peculiarly fitted for that office,
not least by the fact that he
fathered the Constitution under
which he was elected. But as
ill-luck would have it, not long
after his assumption of office,
his otherwise robust health began
to fail and he was in and out of
hospital by turns. Fortunately, he
was restored to health and as he
braced himself to command, so to
speak, the ship of state and
hopefully, nurture and sustain
what, to us, is that elusive
concept, called constitutional
government, the event of 13
January 1972 occurred. I do not
have to describe it. It is old
hat.
He would have been less than human
if he were not distressed by that
event. But as was his habit, he
took it with philosophic calmness
and regarded it as a national
misfortune rather than a personal
setback. When I called on him
shortly after 13 January 1972, he
asked the question "Do you think
there is any future for an
elective office in this country?"
I answered instinctively and
without reflection "Yes, sure." I
did so as an optimist. The events
since 4 June 1979 in which
democratic elections were allowed
to proceed on schedule and the
subsequent transfer of power to an
elected civilian Head of State,
prove that my optimism was
well-placed.
As a nation, we cannot help
feeling sad at the passing of so
distinguished a son of the soil.
To some of us to whom he was a
mentor and an idol, we feel a
sense of personal loss. But to his
family—the closely knit and united
family that I know it to be, the
sense of personal loss will be
greater still. There are however
two matters from which we can draw
comfort. First, although
Akufo-Addo is no more, he cannot
be forgotten. In two important
spheres of our national life, he
has immortalised himself. It will
remain forever in our records that
for four years between September
1966 and August 1970, he headed,
with great distinction, the
judicial arm of government and
from 1970 to 1972, he became the
Head of State itself. It is an
achievement which many would
aspire to but which only few can
ever attain. There is also the
fact, comforting in itself, that
of the two male children he left
behind, one has chosen his
profession and if present
indications are any guide, will
not only keep ablaze the family
name and honour, but may leave
behind a reputation no less
enviable than his father.
I
do not know whether the portrait
that I have painted of the late
Akufo-Addo really does justice to
him. I have tried to portray him
just as I knew him, without, I
believe, any embellishment or
embroidery and in doing so, I bore
in mind the request which Oliver
Cromwell made to his painter, Mr.
Lely. He told him:
"I desire you would use all your
skill to paint my picture truly
like me and not flatter me at all;
but remark all these roughness,
pimples, warts and everything as
you see me, otherwise I will not
pay a farthing for it."
These are just the words that
Akufo-Addo himself would have
used. Edward, as his friends
amiably call him, needs no
apology; whitewash was never a
form of colouring acceptable to
him. No one who really came into
contact with him, can help feeling
that he came into the presence of
a personality whose imprint will
remain undimmed by time.
Greatness, it is said, is not an
infectious disease, people
remember it when they meet it. And
Edward Akufo-Addo was great! But
like all mortals, he has "parted
the world and its toiling." He
will be remembered by what he has
done.
He will be sadly missed by his
judicial colleagues and indeed the
entire legal fraternity. While we
all miss and deeply mourn him, his
wife and children and indeed his
whole family will miss him more. I
know that you will all wish me to
extend to them, our profound
sympathy and share with them the
sense of personal loss at the
passing of so distinguished a son
of the soil.
We would advise that they should
not grieve too much. Akufo-Addo
himself would not wish that. What
I believe he would wish, is that
we should think of him sometimes
and spare an occasional prayer for
him. But as a patriot and a
nationalist, I believe his
greatest wish would be that this
country should enjoy peace and
prosperity and that the
regrettable interruptions in the
governance of Ghana, should remain
things of the past. For the legal
profession, I am certain his wish
would be that they should continue
in the future, as in the past, to
be leaders of thought and should
continue boldy and fearlessly to
stand up for what is right and be
the bastions of the liberty of the
ordinary citizens of this country.
To such wishes, we can raise no
issues but to wish in turn that he
would enjoy eternal rest and that
the earth will lie lightly on his
remains.
Tribute by the Deputy
Attorney-General
The late Mr. Justice Edward
Akufo-Addo, we are told, was born
on 26 June 1906 and died on 17
July 1979. In the biography
written in the State funeral
programme for him produced on
Saturday, 8 September 1979, we
read:
"after completing his primary
education, he was, appropriately
enough, sent in 1917 to the
celebrated Basel Mission Seminary
at Akropong to prepare him for the
priesthood. That it was at the
Seminary that the traditional
Calvinist virtues of relentless
industry, self-discipline,
scrupulous honesty and an
unshakable belief in the Christian
religion were instilled in him and
they became the rock on which he
built his illustrious career…”
In Revelations Chapter 21 verse 1,
we read, "And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth; for the first
heaven and first earth were past
away; and there is no more sea."
It may be said that in consonance
with his unshakable belief in the
Christian religion, Mr. Edward
Akufo-Addo now sees a new heaven
and a new earth. He no more sees
any sea.
Historical truths, to be sure, are
rarely the object of unanimity.
Recollections differ, opinions
differ, even the same facts appear
different to different people.
Edward Akufo-Addo's own role will
be recalled in wholly different
fashion, I am certain, by those in
different relationships with him.
To the jurists and intellectuals,
his qualities of mind were most
memorable. To the politicians, he
was first and last a politician.
Differing traits and trade-marks
are recalled by his colleagues,
friends and his family.
Some are wont to speak more of his
style than of his substance. In my
view, this is regrettable, for in
that short human frame that Edward
Akufo-Addo carried, he showed
boundless courage and adherence to
principle.
The Akufo-Addo style was
special—the grace, the wit, the
elegance that will rightly long be
remembered. But what mattered most
to him, and what in my opinion
will matter most to history, is
the substance—the strength of his
ideas and ideals, his courage and
judgment. Those were the pith and
purpose of his judicature and
presidency of which style was but
an overtone. No one would want to
diminish the value of his
judgments and speeches. But their
significance lay not in the
splendour of their rhetoric but in
the principles and policies they
conveyed.
His candid and objective responses
to public questions, and his
insistence on cutting through
prevailing bias and myths to the
heart of a problem were remarkable
and admirable. He had a
disciplined and analytical mind
and many who knew him would
testify that his cool analytical
mind was stimulated by a warm and
compassionate heart. Beneath the
careful. pragmatic approach lay
increasingly deep convictions on
basic goals and unusual
determination to achieve them. But
many who knew him only casually
mistook his refusal to display
emotion as a lack of concern or
commitment.
It is a sovereign tribute to his
sterling qualities and
invaluableness of service to his
country that the late Mr. Edward
Akufo-Addo held the singularly
honourable offices of Chief
Justice and President of Ghana
during his lifetime.
The Lord God said to Edward
Akufo-Addo on 16 July 1979,
"Tomorrow is a new moon and thy
seat shall be empty for thou shall
not be found." So Edward
Akufo-Addo was called to his
eternal rest on 17 July 1979. Mr.
Justice Edward Akufo-Addo is no
more, but memories of him and his
good works will linger on, and for
so long as life lasts, be
cherished by those who were
privileged to work with him and to
share the delights offered by his
friendship, his home and his warm,
witty and humane company.
Tribute by the President of the
Ghana Bar Association
The Ghana Bar Association
remembers the late ex-President
and ex-Chief Justice of Ghana,
Edward Akufo-Addo, with great
pride and deep sorrow. But since
all of us gathered here have heard
his lordship the Chief Justice and
the Hon. Deputy Attorney-General
adequately cover most of the
ground, my task is the lighter one
of dealing with residuary matters
of somewhat more than residual
importance.
All who came into contact with
Edward Akufo-Addo as a practising
lawyer were struck by the sheer
quality of the man. That quality
was pervasive. It showed in every
aspect of his performance in
court, in his handling of work at
chambers, in his social contacts
with fellow lawyers, senior and
junior alike, in his domestic
life, in his everyday relations
with all and sundry and even in
his activities in the hostile
environment of Ghanaian politics.
For a junior barrister to watch
his performance in court was to
see dramatised in real life the
stuff of the textbooks on
advocacy. I was myself privileged
to see him perform in the High
Court but more often in the
pre-1969 Supreme Court on appeal.
The last case I saw him
argue—against the late K.
Bentsi-Enchill was the Amarh
Kwantreng Trust case.1 It was a
treat to see those two great
lawyers at it knacking pure equity
law. It is difficult to single out
Edward Akufo-Addo's forensic
qualities; all his formidable
array of legal weapons were
deployed: the painstaking
preparation, ready familiarity
with the relevant authorities, the
hard-hitting logic of the
argument, the mastery of English,
the concise presentation of the
case, the frank admission of
insuperable difficulties and
flashes of humour to tide him over
the rougher passages when
answering probing questions from
the Bench. And all of it done with
such manners, such polish! He
always fought hard and always
fought clean. And always he strove
to be the best in professional
standing and in social grace
alike. He was a great model to
copy and emulate.
It will be remembered that Edward
Akufo-Addo thrived in an
environment which produced such
legal giants as Nii Amaa Ollennu,
Sir Edward Asafu-Adjaye, C. F.
Hayfron-Benjamin Snr., R. S. Blay
and K. Adumua-Bossman to mention
only his immediate peers. Of all
these, only Nii Amaa Ollennu is
still, happily, with us. These
were men of many parts well known
in the political, cultural and
traditional as well as the
religious life of the community.
But these distinctions and
eminence never put them out of
range or out of concern for junior
barristers. To be sure, Edward
Akufo-Addo was so formidable a
character from his exacting, high
standards that a junior normally
approached him with trepidation.
But every such junior would
testify how he was immediately put
at his ease and given ready
assistance by that formidable
cigar-smoking senior. Not many
lawyers know another endearing
trait of Edward Akufo-Addo. He
would walk up to a junior and seek
his legal opinion on some matter
in the most disarmingly casual
manner. It ought also to be
remembered that he often stopped
to congratulate a junior who had
stood up well in court or carried
off a good argument. And he never
lacked for words of encouragement
for a junior who had fought hard
but failed.
The man was surprisingly without
rancour in his relations with
opposing counsel or perhaps he was
much too well-mannered to permit
himself any outward show of a
grudge against a fellow lawyer.
The Ghana Bar Association may
recall now with an ironical smile
that Edward Akufo-Addo though
formerly the Secretary of the Bar
was the one Chief Justice whom it
has ever sued in court.2 Though
the experience must have hurt and
angered him, yet nevertheless he
never afterwards held that episode
against the Bar nor against the
individual lawyers who fought him
in court. In this I submit that he
scored very high marks indeed. It
is a matter of regret that these
traits he displayed at the Bar and
also on the Bench have not, as
they ought, become matters of
course among the lawyers of today.
Any reading of the West African
Court of Appeal Reports, the Land
Court Cases (1948-51) and
(1952-55), the West African Law
Reports and the Ghana Law Reports
(from 1959 to 1964) will confirm
the high proficiency of the man,
first as a lawyer then as a judge.
I beg leave to mention three
judgments which prove beyond doubt
his eminence as a judge though of
rather short-lived tenure. The
first is the now oft-cited case of
Mosi v. Bagyina.3 This was the
case which decided that a court or
judge had the inherent power
without time limit, on his own
motion or upon a party's
application to set aside in the
interest of justice any judgment
or order which is void because it
was given without jurisdiction.
The second case is the judgment in
the treason trial of Tawiah
Adamafio and others reported as
State v. Otchere.4 That
electrifying judgment acquitting
and discharging the accused
persons put it beyond doubt that
moral courage had not yet left our
courts when most people thought it
had. It was this judgment which
impelled a frustrated President
Nkrumah into one of his many
lapses—this time, the forced
retirement of the deciding judges
and uninvolved judges who agreed
with the acquittal. The third case
is State v. General Officer
Commanding the Ghana Army; Ex
parte Braimah.5 This was the
habeas corpus case from the 28
days’ detention rule of N.L.C.
days. Edward Akufo-Addo delivering
the judgment of the court held
that6:
“The courts in Ghana have a duty
to safeguard the liberty of the
citizen and in any matter
affecting that liberty the actions
of the executive and its officers
are subject to the supervision and
control of the courts on habeas
corpus.”
That is why, he went on to point
out, that it would not be an
acceptable return to a habeas
corpus action merely for an
official to exhibit the official
order or consent for the detention
in question:
“The return must go further and
state clearly facts from which the
object of the detention can
reasonably be ascertained, for the
court as a tribunal of facts will
have to be satisfied of the
existence of the facts justifying
the detention.”
He added, “Official good faith
cannot in the administration of
the criminal law be a substitute
for evidence and proof.”
After many depressing months
following the Unigov Referendum of
30 March 1978, when the lights
went out all over Ghana with the
wave of post-referendum
detentions, Edward Akufo-Addo was
full of admiration for the stand
taken by the Ghana Bar Association
on the general issue of civic
liberties. And it was no small
vindication of the rules he laid
down in Ex parte Braimah (who was
ironically a Nigerian national)
that these rules came to triumph
in the crowning achievement of our
Association in the Court of
Appeal's judgment dated 18 July
1979 . . .7
FOOTNOTES
1
See Kwantreng v. Amassah [1962] 1
G.L.R. 241, S.C.
2
See Akufo-Addo v. Quashie-Idun
[1968] G.L.R. 667, C.A. (full
bench).
3
[1963] 1 G.L.R. 337, S.C.
4
[1963] 2 G.L.R. 463.
5
[1967] G.L.R. 192, C.A. (full
bench).
6
Ibid. at p. 200.
7
See Republic v. Attorney-General;
Ex parte Quaye Mensah [1979] G.L.R.
429. |
