During the opening ceremony of the 2026 Judicial Year and 20th Anniversary of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) in Arusha, Tanzania, President John Dramani Mahama proudly acknowledged Ghana’s longstanding contribution of distinguished legal minds to the Court.
He highlighted the achievements of Justice Sophia Akuffo, who served on the Court from 2006 to 2014, ultimately becoming its President. She later returned to Ghana to serve as Chief Justice from 2017 until her retirement in 2019.
President Mahama also noted the ongoing contribution of Justice Sir Dennis Adjei, a respected member of Ghana’s Supreme Court, who began his six-year term at the AfCHPR in 2022.
Shifting focus, President Mahama observed that while Africa is rich in natural resources like gold, oil, and lithium, its most valuable inheritance is its people and their cultural heritage.
He argued that those who exploited the continent historically understood this truth profoundly, citing the assassinations of liberation figures such as Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, and Steve Biko, as well as the exiles and imprisonments of leaders like Nana Prempeh I, Yaa Asantewaa, Sam Nujoma, and Nelson Mandela.
These losses, he said, represented a devastating drain of the continent’s potential.
Reflecting on this theme, he referenced “The Lost Decades of Africa,” the opening chapter of his book, My First Coup d’Etat, which describes the period from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s when widespread instability led to brain drain and stagnation across the continent.
President Mahama stressed that the effects of human rights violations extend far beyond individuals, deeply impacting families and communities.
Despite comprising 55 sovereign nations, he noted, African destinies are intertwined.
He pointed to historical patterns, the wave of liberation struggles and the subsequent spread of coup d’états as evidence of this interconnectedness, which often leads the world to view Africa as a single entity.
Drawing on personal history, the President recounted the political persecution faced by his late father, E.A. Mahama, a former minister under Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Following the 1966 coup, his father endured detention and, after writing a critical letter to a subsequent head of state, was forced into exile for 13 years.
While his father’s suffering was significant, the President acknowledged that many others faced even greater injustices.
“We are each other’s keepers,” President Mahama declared, underscoring the necessity for a continental institution that is impartial and serves all.
“This is why we need an institution that serves all but is beholden to none: the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
He praised the Court for its work over the past two decades, stating it has consistently demonstrated the fortitude to guide the continent’s moral compass.
Such oversight, he argued, is essential to ensure adherence to the principles of the Banjul Charter. He called for empowering the Court to fully protect these ideals and preserve what he termed Africa’s greatest inheritance, its people and their legacy.
