The years was 2015 or thereabout. The venue was a Commercial High Court in Accra. I entered the Courtroom to see that the Court was empty, with the Court clerks sitting there. Upon enquiry, I was told my Lord was sitting inside, wait small. “She will call you ….”
I missed a heartbeat. Female Judges as a rule are more strict and more difficult to deal with than male judges. I had realised to my horror, while in the car coming to Court that, I had made a serious technical omission – how am I going to get round it?
In due course, my case was mentioned and I went in – look who is there – Mrs Justice Getrude Torkonno!!!! we studied law together in 1984- 85 and 86, and were called to the Bar together on 3rd October 1986 by the Chief Justice, E N P Sowah, in the Supreme Court.
She welcomed me with a huge smile – “Nkrabeah, I have not seen you for a long time – how have you been …….” As she was talking she was writing in her big record book ……. My name, title of the case …… I was nervous to the bone marrow. I did not know whether to laugh or to be cheerful – if she asks me about the technical omission what am I going to say …… Oh God help me.
My Lord the Justice of the Commercial High Court was writing as she talked to me at the same time ….” So Nkrabeah, where have you been? You have never come to my Court …..”
My heart was in my mouth. “Application granted as prayed!!!
Oh God! let me run away before she realises that I had made a technical omission, almost fatal to my application. I rose up, bowed and left, as she was still smiling good naturedly.
The good thing about classmates is that ‘till death do you part you always remain cordial to each other’.
We sat together as E.S Aidoo lectured us in Family Law, as B.J.D Rocha lectured us in Civil Procedure, as Mr. W.E Offei lectured us in Advocacy and Legal Ethics and so on.
I had surgery at 37 Hospital and was out of Circulation for about six months in 2017. One Sunday afternoon, I was in my living room watching television after church, when all of a sudden I saw Her Lordship, Mrs Justice Getrude Torkonno, Justice of Appeal!!!
“Nkrabeah, how are you?
You can imagine how I felt when I heard in the news that Justice Torkonno has been appointed as the chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, following the footsteps of Chief Justice Samuel Azu Crabbe, Chief Justice Fred Apaloo, Chief Justice E.N.P Sowah, Chief Justice P.E.N.K Archer, Chief Justice I.K Abban, Chief Justice E.K Wiredu, Chief Justice G.K Acquah, Chief Justice Georgina Wood, Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, Chief Justice Annim Yeboah and now all hail HER LORDSHIP THE CHIEF JUSTICE GETRUDE TORKONOO!!!
My Lord, I strongly recommend that your first agenda should and must be complete shutdown, isolate yourself for 7 days and pray, pray and pray, thanking God, beseeching Him and asking for HIS TOTAL GUIDANCE, as the FOURTH HONOURABLE in the REALM
I have never been a judge, and I have never wished to be a judge, mainly because I enjoy my unlimited freedom as a Court going lawyer, making noise as a politician, arguing with my colleagues on any topic on the floor. I enjoy controversy.
But you are a Judge, and now Chief Justice. And you know only too well what makes the practice of law so exciting is the APPELLATE system.
There is no need to quarrel with a Judge or a Lawyer. If a Judge gives a decision against you, just park your papers and leave, and APPEAL – Simple.
The biggest problem we practicing lawyers have and I know it as a fact that, when you were practicing before your elevation to the High Court Bench you faced the same problem,” some judges DELIBERATELY make it impossible for us lawyers to get copies of their JUDGEMENET!!!!
As I write now, there are at least THREE prisoners in Nsawam whose appeal cases are ‘NOT moving forward because the copies of their Judgment CANNOT BE TRACED!!!! Terrible.
My Lord, make it an IRON LAW that any judge, be he a magistrate circuit or High Court judge who will give a decision and fail to submit a signed copy of the Ruling within two weeks will be queried and severely sanctioned. My Lord, the appellate system is the bedrock of the JUDICIAL SYSTEM but without a copy of the Ruling/Judgment/Decision, you can NEVER appeal.
In fact, my Lord, go one step further by decreeing that copies of Rulings/Judgments of the Courts should be FREEE and not sold to anybody. That is JUSTICE at work. Let any judge give any reasoned decision, put it down in writing, sign it and give it out, for free.
The late Justice Apatu Plange of blessed memory one day told me something just after call to the Bar that, if you are a lawyer and you annoy a judge he can take his time and write a solid terrible judgment against you – take it anywhere and you will not be able to assail it.
With the kind permission of your husband, Mr Torkonno, allow me to say that Getrude Sackey (affectionately called GET SACK by your teenage paddies) as you go about making speeches, opening new courts, including an overdue High Court in Berekum, my hometown, with a population of over 100,000 – please remember that if judges write judgments and we cannot have copies to conduct an appeal, then they are sabotaging the judicial process.
I wish you all the best, my classmate.
Written By Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
