Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Kwasi Anin Yeboah, is set to retire today, May 24, 2023.
The 70-year-old served for five years since taking over from retired Justice Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo in 2019.
Earlier this month, President Akufo-Addo informed Parliament of his decision to appoint Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as Chief Justice as Justice Anin’s replacement.
In a letter to Parliament, President Akufo-Addo called for her speedy approval.
President Akufo-Addo in an earlier letter to the Council of State said Justice Torkonoo’s appointment is to avoid any vacuum that would occur following the retirement of Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.
Justice Mrs Torkornoo per this nomination, will be vetted by Parliament.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has described outgoing Justice Anin-Yeboah as an exceptional leader of the Judiciary at a farewell dinner organised by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in his honour.
The President said the tenure of Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah has seen laudable achievements worth emulating by his successor.
“Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah has been an exceptional leader to the judiciary. He has guarded jealously the judiciary and his conduct has brought honour to the judiciary and to our country. Not only has he continued with the modernisation of activities of the judiciary, but his tenure of office has also seen arguably the largest infrastructural development undertaken in the history of the judiciary,” he said.
Justice Yeboah on his part thanked the President and the Ghana Bar Association for their support.
Background on Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah
Justice Anin Yeboah is the fourth longest-serving Justice of the Supreme Court.
A graduate of the Ghana School of Law in 1981, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in June 2008.
Prior to that, he served as a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2003 and a Justice of the Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2008.
Apart from being a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah is also a part-time lecturer in Civil Procedure and the Ghana Legal System at the Ghana School of Law.
Justice Anin Yeboah’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 Committee of the Ghana Football Association from 2004 to 2008.