Supreme Court justices, the judges of the apex court of Ghana, are the custodians of Ghana’s justice delivery system.

The court, through the judges, exercises exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters relating to the enforcement or interpretation of the 1992 Constitution.

The court, through the justices, also exercises supervisory jurisdiction over all courts in Ghana. As such, judges of the court are expected to be people of high repute with no political biases, although they are appointed by “political presidents.”

Often, the appointment of Supreme Court justices who have had some stints in politics are greeted with strong opposition, but that has not prevented the court from having judges who were previously very active politicians.

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Ironically, all these judges attempted to enter Ghana’s Parliament, with some contesting in parliamentary elections more than once, but they failed in their bids.

Here are some current and past Supreme Court judges who were once active politicians:

Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu:

Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, a current justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed to the court in 2022, following his nomination by then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

His appointment to the Supreme Court came just a few years after Akufo-Addo appointed him to the High Court, and it was greeted with a lot of opposition, with a faction of the public saying his appointment was because of his political affiliation.



Justice Gaewu, before his appointment as a judge, was a prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He once served as the constituency chairman of the party in Ho, in the Volta Region. He was even a parliamentary candidate of the NPP in the 2012 election for the Ho Central constituency.

He reportedly resigned from politics the very day he was appointed a High Court judge.

Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang:



Gabriel Scott Pwamang, a current justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed to the court in 2015 after his nomination by then-President John Dramani Mahama, during his first term.

Justice Pwamang’s appointment to the Supreme Court, while he was a managing partner of a law firm without experience as a judge, raised a lot of eyebrows.

Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a Commissioner on the Constitution Review Commission of Ghana from January 2010 to December 2011, which held consultations throughout the nation on the 1992 Constitution and subsequently submitted a report that included recommendations for amendments to the Constitution.

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Justice Pwamang was an active politician before becoming a judge. He was a member of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and served in various positions in the party, including being its Deputy General Secretary and later the General Secretary.

He was a parliamentary candidate for the Navrongo Central constituency on three occasions — 2004, 2008, and 2012. He, however, failed to win the seat on all three occasions.

Justice William Atuguba:



Justice William Atuguba, a retired Supreme Court judge, was appointed to the court in 1995 by the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Justice Atuguba, before his retirement in 2018, had served on the bench for 44 years, with about 23 of these years being at the Supreme Court.

Before his appointment as a judge, however, Justice Atuguba ventured into politics. He was the parliamentary candidate for the Popular Front Party (PFP), which was founded by the late Victor Owusu, but pulled out of the race and ended his campaign activities before the polls.

Leading figures of the NPP, including Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, have claimed that he was their parliamentary candidate in the 1992 election for a constituency in the Upper East Region, a claim which has been contested.

BAI/VPO

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