Anin-Yeboah ‘Replaces’ Sophia Akuffo

President Akufo-Addo has nominated Justice Anin-Yeboah as Chief Justice subject to Parliamentary approval.

The First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, has referred the letter to the Appointments Committee of the House.

Joe Osei Owusu also read a speech on behalf of President Akufo-Addo who says he is fully confident in Justice Anin Yeboah’s capacity to ’eminently’ occupy the office of Ghana’s Chief Justice.

The President also disclosed that he consulted the Council of Elders prior to the nomination of Justice Anin Yeboah.

“In order to avoid a vacuum in the office of the Chief Justice following her retirement, I decided to initiate the processes for the appointment of her successor. To that end, a letter dated 2nd December 2018, pursuant to Article 1441 of the Constitution, I consulted with the Council of State on my nominee, Mr. Justice Anin Yeboah, who has been at the Supreme Court for the last 11 years and 5 years on the Court of Appeal prior to that, to succeed Chief Justice Akuffo.”

“The Council of Elders have notified me by letter under the hand of the Chairperson, dated 11th December 2019, of the successful completion of the consultation process. Thus, in accordance to article 1441 of the constitution, I write to inform you that I have nominated Justice Anin Yeboah for approval by parliament as the next Chief Justice. I’m fully satisfied that Justice Anin Yeboah is qualified and eminently fit to occupy the office of Chief Justice.”

If approved, Justice Anin-Yeboah, who is the fourth longest-serving Justice of the Supreme Court, will succeed Justice Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo, who retires on December 20, 2019.

Justice Anin-Yeboah, a well-seasoned lawyer, was appointed to the Supreme Court by former President John Agyekum Kuffuor in June 2008.

He has also served as a Justice of the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

In addition, he is a part-time lecturer in Civil Procedure and the Ghana Legal System at the Ghana School of Law.

Prior to that, he had served as a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2003 and a Justice of the Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2008.

The Supreme Court Justice’s name is also associated with football.

In May 2017, he was appointed the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).

He also served as the Chairman of the Appeal’s Committee of the Ghana Football Association from 2004 to 2008.