The following is a verbatim reproduction of what Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo said of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the 2024 Africa Conference of the International Association of Women Judges.

The Chief Justice’s description of President Akufo-Addo as: “A lawyer and champion of justice,” whose name “is definitely etched in the legal history of this country as a most distinguished legal practitioner”, and “His belief in the Rule of Law” being “evident during his tenure and the Judicial Service of Ghana has been a happy beneficiary of exceptional levels of physical, and technological infrastructure during this period,” has been met with mixed reactions.

Below, read the full address.

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES (IAWJ) 18^TH AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE

OPENING CEREMONY

Date: 13 MAY 2024

VENUE: LABADI BEACH HOTEL, ACCRA-GHANA

THEME: ‘COMBATING NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES- THE ROLE OF WOMEN JUDGES’

Welcome Address: Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana

Your Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana

Her Ladyship Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court and President of the Local Organising Committee for this Conference

Her Ladyship Justice Cyra Pamela C. A. Koranteng, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Judicial Secretary

Hon. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice

Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, President of the IAWJ

Executive Director IAWJ, Ms. Christie Jones

Hon. Justice Roli Harriman: Regional Director, IAWJ, West and South Africa

Hon. Justice Henrietta Wolanyo: Regional Director, IAWJ, Central and East Africa

Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu, President, IAWJ, Ghana

Presidents of the various Chapters herein present

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all delegates to Accra for the 18^th Africa Regional Conference of the International Association of Women Judges. We are very honored to have you here with us. Preparing for you has been a labor of love and the Judiciary of Ghana is absolutely to the Local Organizing Community for the sacrifices and services that have made today possible. I want to assure you that everything has been done to make the conference and your stay a pleasant and memorable experience. Thank you and welcome.

We are especially grateful to His Excellency the President for the strong support we have received from the Office of the President. The culmination of this support is the presence of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who will be officially opening this 5-day conference. A lawyer and champion of justice, the President’s name is definitely etched in the legal history of this country as a most distinguished legal practitioner. His belief in the Rule of Law has been evident during his tenure and the Judicial Service of Ghana has been a happy beneficiary of exceptional levels of physical, and technological infrastructure during this period.

I also thank the International Association of Women Judges Africa for granting Ghana hosting rights for this year 2024. It is a duty that we welcomed with joy. Our greatest hope is that we are able to provide a platform for a robust exchange of ideas that will spur change and innovation in our various jurisdictions after we leave here, using the force of law to combat negative cultural practices, and our role as women Judges, as forces for change.

Over the course of this conference, we shall have the opportunity to interact and share with each other about what rules, regulations and best practices effectively aid judicial processes to combat negative cultural practices, and how we can bring new ideas and perspectives to our work. We will have the chance to learn, grow and become better apprised with only one goal – that more people than ever before, particularly women and children and the vulnerable in our individual societies, can be assured of justice whenever sociological norms and community cultures clashe with the law. This goal is at the core of IAWJ as an association. The IAWJ remains a vital mechanism through which we can explore varying collaborative thoughts to improve justice delivery in all countries.

While we expect this week to be one of learning and sharing, I am particularly looking forward to the conviviality, building and strengthening of bonds that will definitely occur. In the last few months and weeks, I have had the intense pleasure of meeting with and bonding with sister judges from Abuja, Banjul and Liberia.  

While you are here, I must commend to you the many attractions that our nation has. For nature lovers, it is a land of lakes, rivers, lagoons, hills, and water falls. For food lovers, there is a palate rejuvenating buffet of vegetables, fruits, rice dishes, corn dishes, meats, fish, and beans. We have extraordinary sauces, soups, and blends of carbohydrate harvests. And of course, there is the music, fashion, kaleidoscope of fabrics, theater and the simple joys of peace.  Accra is the soul stirring capital that many of us call home and I invite you to soak it in.

I wish the Africa Chapter of IAWJ all a most successful conference. Thank you again for coming, and Akwaaba.