Source: newsthemegh.com/Manasseh Azure Awuni
Dear Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo,
I write to thank you for what you’re doing for Ghana. I admire your courage to take on activism at a time when you should be resting and enjoying life, at a time when it is both safe and rewarding to be seen as a “well-behaved stateswoman” in the corridors of power.
I can imagine the risks to your comfort, security and mental health when you stand up against the most ruthless elements of our nation, who won’t spare anyone standing in their way.
It’s refreshing to have new voices and surprise entrants into the arena of public discourse, which is beginning to lose its steam because of fatigue.
You’re doing this for me and generations after me. And I appreciate it.
As I said at the 75th Anniversary Lecture at the University of Ghana, Legon, the judiciary could save this country while on the bench. If the executive and the powerful in our society ever get to a point when they cannot be sure of the outcome of court cases they’re involved in, they would think twice before misbehaving or looting.
Having said that, however, your activism after the bench is welcome and appreciated. And some of us will remember you more for this than your years as a judge.
You will lose favour with the powers that rule our nation. You won’t get onto boards and the moribund Council of State and be entitled to fat allowances. You will be maligned and insulted and ridiculed by politicians and their attack dogs. (Some people who work at the highest level and do not manage their lives well gag themselves because they don’t want to speak up and forfeit the post-retirement perks.)
In all of this, however, know that some of us truly appreciate your role in speaking for the millions whose voices weigh lighter than the tail feather of an “apatupre” bird.
Thank you, Madam. God bless you.
Yours sincerely,