Chief Justice Georgina Wood in a hand shake with Justice Joseph Bawa Akamba

Joseph Bawa Akamba, a justice of the Supreme Court, has retired from the judiciary after 40 years of service.

He joined the Judicial Service in 1977 as a magistrate and was promoted to the Circuit Court, High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court through diligence and excellence.

At a ceremony in Accra to officially bid farewell to Justice Akamba, the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, said his (Akamba's) integrity was impeccable.

Justice William Atuguba, a Supreme Court judge, said the record of the retiring judge was full of “pluses” and also had a good record during his service in The Gambia.

He noted that Justice Akamba was frank and always straightforward.

Justice Jones Dotse, another justice of the apex court, citing excerpts from Justice Akamba's judgments, said Bawa, as he called him, is a first-class gentleman, man of integrity, sociable, honest, intelligent, hardworking and has the appetite for finding solutions to intractable legal problems.”

Justice Sulley Gbadegbe, among other things, stated that Ghana's judiciary would be missing one of the finest judges.

Bension Nustupui, President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), in a remark said the outgoing judge is a humble person who did not exhibit arrogance, although the law was said to be in his bosom.

Justice Akamba in a remark, said in 1977 when he took the step to join the Bench, it was a step of faith and that the Lord had seen him through.

He said he would not attribute his successes to himself but rather to God.

A citation of honour to Justice Akamba among other things, reads, “You served your colleagues on the Court of Appeal, Ghana, well when you represented them in the Judicial Council.”

It further states, “Your elevation to the Supreme Court of Ghana in 2012 was a justifiable reward for your demonstrable competence and conscientious attitude towards your judicial functions.”

In 1994 while on the High Court Bench, Justice Akamba was appointment on secondment in The Gambia as a Director of Public Prosecutions.

He has also served as the Director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and led it to produce Bench Books for Magistrates on Civil and Criminal Procedures, Juvenile Justice and Family Tribunal.

In 2012, Justice Akamba was the president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges and also member of the Judicial Council, was among the team that negotiated with the government for an improvement in the conditions of service for the Lower Bench.

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