I really don’t miss being a judge – Sophia Akuffo

Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, has spoken about life after serving as a Supreme Court judge and one-time Chief Justice of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Mrs. Akuffo said since 2019 when she retired, she hardly ever thinks about her time serving on the bench.

Responding to the host about whether she missed her time as a judge:

Madam Akuffo: “It’s been full, it’s been interesting, it’s been restful, and I can choose my times more effectively than before.

“But for me, it’s been very good …no (she responded to whether she missed working) I’ve served, I finished, I’m happy to be retired, I’m happy I’m not each time saddled with having to write judgements and agonizing with decisions and so on and so forth.

“So, I really don’t miss the work. And I don’t think that most judges after a long pause on the bench miss the daily grind, I doubt it.”

The former Chief Justice recently joined pensioners to picket at the Finance Ministry to demand a total exemption of their investments in the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
Sophia Akuffo was seen holding a placard with the inscription ‘We depend on our bond yields to pay our rent, medical bills, electricity bills and water bills.’

Speaking with GhanaWeb at the forefront of the ministry in Accra, the former appointee of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo explained that she is now all out to speak against the government.

“There are quite a number of people here today, who retired last year, last two years. When they retired, they put everything into government bonds and now all of a sudden, you virtually want to, at gunpoint, force them to agree with you that the repayment of their investment or yields of their investments should be as you dictate it. Why?

"Why are we in the mess we are in, nobody has fully explained it to us, yes debts, we took debts, what was it used for? Where is the accountability? You are not telling us about how you are going to make things better but just ‘help me and I’ll help you’ no, you help yourself first.

“Let me see you doing something serious because we’ve seen these sorts of things for a very long time. I’m over 70 now, and I’m no longer a government employee. My mouth has been ungagged and I’m talking and I’m saying what I feel and it is important that, the elderly in this nation,” she explained.

You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:



AM/SARA