Mabel Agyemang

Her Ladyship Mrs. Justice Mabel Maame Agyemang, née Banful (also Yamoa) is the current Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[1][2] An expert superior court judge with a judicial career spanning decades, Justice Agyemang served in the judiciaries of the governments of Ghana, The Gambia and Swaziland prior to her current role in the Turks and Caicos Islands.[3] She was also the first female Chief Justice of The Gambia.[4][5]

Her Ladyship Mrs. Justice/Her Ladyship Justice Mabel Maame Agyemang (née Banful)
Personal details
Born	Ghana
Nationality	Ghanaian
Alma mater	Ghana School of Law, University of Ghana, Wesley Girls' High School
Occupation	Judge
Profession	Lawyer, Judge

Judicial career

Justice Agyemang was called to the Ghanaian Bar in 1987 and joined the Bench shortly after. As a Ghanaian judge, she served in various judicial capacities and sat in a number of jurisdictions including Accra, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Kumasi, and Tema. She also served as vice-president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana from 1996 to 2000.[6] She was elevated to the High Court in 2002.[7]

She began working for the Commonwealth Secretariat as an expert judge in 2004, first being sent to The Gambia where she spent four years as a High Court judge.[8] During her four-year tenure in the Gambia, Justice Agyemang served the Land, Civil, Commercial and Criminal divisions and successfully completed about 365 files.[8] In 2008, she was seconded to Swaziland where she served for two years in a similar capacity.[3] Her cases in Swaziland spanned both private and public law and included cases on defamation, unlawful arrests, police brutality and electoral disputes.[3] One of her notable judgments in Swaziland was her judgment on the right to free education.[9]

Justice Agyemang returned to The Gambia in 2010, still with the Commonwealth Secretariat, as an expert Appeal Court Judge.[10] She was appointed Chief Justice of the Gambia in August 2013.[5][11] Her appointment was widely seen as an inspired choice as she is seen by the international community as an experienced and independent minded judge.[12] She served until her abrupt removal in February 2014. There was no official reason given by the Gambian government as to the cause of dismissal.[13][14][15] It is suspected by many in the international judicial community that her dismissal was tied to differences over a human rights abuse case[16] and her insistence on judicial independence.[17]

Upon returning to her native Ghana, Justice Agyemang was sworn in as a Justice of the Ghana Court of Appeal.[18] In October 2015, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a new judicial complex in Accra, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama cited Justice Agyemang as an example of highly respected judges within the Ghanaian judiciary.[19]

In February 2020, Nigel Dakin, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, announced the appointment of Justice Agyemang as Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[2] In his announcement speech, Governor Dakin shared a statement from the Gambia Bar Association regarding Justice Agyemang's sudden departure from The Gambia in 2014:

During her tenure as Chief Justice, she had firm control of the judiciary, as well as the support of the judges, the Bar Association and the judicial staff. She instilled a culture of discipline and professionalism in the Judiciary. The attitude to work by judicial officers dramatically changed, and they became more professional and effective. Punctuality was expected of everyone and she led by example. She introduced reforms to ensure access to justice to litigants and to minimize the unnecessary delays in the dispensation of justice. She initiated the amendment of the Rules of Court to ensure expeditious determination of cases. She was a driver of innovation and reform, introducing ICT solutions to Judges for case law research amongst other things. It was regrettable that despite her excellent and successful tenure, the President at the time unlawfully terminated her services to the dismay and disappointment of the entire legal fraternity. At that period of time, the then autocratic President was doing everything possible to control the Judiciary. Indeed, the departure of Justice Mabel Agyemang was sorely felt, as she left an indelible mark in our judicial sector.[2]

Justice Agyemang was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands on March 30, 2020 and took office on April 1, 2020.[1]

Personal life

Justice Agyemang is a devout Christian and is married with two children.

References

1. Delana Isles. "New chief justice takes the bench", Turks and Caicos Weekly News, 04 April 2020.
2. Nigel Dakin. "Governor Dakin announces new judicial appointments", GOV.UK, 20 February 2020.
3. "Helping to deliver justice in Swaziland" Archived 2014-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, Commonwealth Secretariat
4. "Editorial: Will Appointment of Ghanaian Justice Mabel Agyemang as Chief Justice bring Judicial reform in Gambia?", Gainako, 23 July 2013.
5. "Agyemang Confirmed Chief Justice" Archived 2013-08-12 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Observer.
6. Bakare Muritala & Momodou Bah. "Ghanaian judges introduced in the Gambia", GhanaWeb, 12 October 2004.
7. "Restore confidence in the Judiciary: JAK to Judges", GhanaWeb, 19 June 2002.
8. "Justice Agyemang Takes Leave of the Gambia", The Point Newspaper, 12 September 2008.
9. "SWAZILAND: Judge rules for free education", IRIN Africa, 25 March 2009.
10. "Four new judges sworn-in" Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Observer.
11. "Ghanaian To Be Sworn In As The Chief Justice Of Gambia" Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, Peace FM Online, 31 July 2013.
12. "British High Commissioner Comments on Appointment of new Chief Justice", The Point Newspaper, 12 August 2013.
13. "2014 Human Rights Reports: The Gambia", US Department of State.
14. "Gambia’s Chief Justice Removed", Kibaaro News, 4 February 2014.
15. "Chief Justice Mabel Agyemang removed", The Point Newspaper, 6 February 2014.
16. "Judicial Independence and Human Rights Issues: Gambia", CMJA News (Newsletter of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association), Vol. 35, April 2014.
17. Sidi Sanneh, "One More Victim of a Patently Vindictive Dictator", 8 March 2014.
18. "President Mahama swears in five Court of Appeal judges", Daily Graphic, 8 January 2015.
19. "Avoid tagging entire judiciary as corrupt – Mahama", Ghana Business News, 9 October 2015.

See also

• Judiciary of Ghana
• Commonwealth Secretariat