By Godfred Yeboah Dame
(Attorney-General and Minister for Justice)
On Monday, 6th October, 2003, I took my first steps up the 4 storey building at 67 Kojo Thompson Road, Adabraka, that housed the famed law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. Those steps would set me on an adventure filled with memories in the practice of law for some 14 years before I was appointed into public service in 2017, first as Deputy Attorney-General.
The memories I speak of were in no small measure made possible by the gentleman whose life we celebrate today, Anthony Akoto-Ampaw (Commander Sheey Sheey, as I would subsequently call him throughout my dealings with him).
I had been interviewed by Philip Addison, Esq., then Head of Chambers at the firm in June, 2003 following the conclusion of my law school examinations as one of two identified replacements for Messrs. Atta Akyea and Yonny Kulendi (now JSC) who had left the firm. After a few minutes of interactions with Mr. Addison he indicated that I could start my training pending my call to the Bar in October, 2003. I politely declined, putting across my plan to travel to London, UK pending the release of my examination results and asked to begin in October, when results were released. At about 8 a.m. on 6th October, 2023, I reported at the Chambers to begin my pupilage following my call to the Bar on 3rd October. Mr. Addison had travelled abroad. The first person I encountered was Kweku Asirifi who gave me a seat and asked me to see Sheey Sheey for some work.
Sheey Sheey’s disarming personality shone through immediately. Even though he seemed not to know about my engagement by Mr Addison, he straightaway gave me a file on a matter entitled Stephen Annancy (a very senior lawyer, now deceased) vrs. Kinesic Communications Limited to proceed to the High Court presided over by Felicity Amoah J.
In complete bewilderment, I asked Sheey Sheey “you mean I should go and handle this matter in court today?” He replied “Yes, you think we are joking here. It is a simple motion for default judgment. We have filed our defence. I know it is on record. Just go and indicate same to the court”.
I did accordingly and alas! All went well. It was in tune with the Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co spirit of enterprise, self-reliance, resilience and preparedness to take on big challenges at any time. From that time, Commander Sheey took me under his wings and shaped my thinking and actions in the virtues of good practice. It is no exaggeration to say that he was my anchor, my trusted source of verification of the validity and legitimacy of any position I took on any important case I handled. Together with other seniors, they provided the perfect blend of qualities required for sound tutelage in the law.
With a golden heart woven of kindness and tolerance, Sheey Sheey painstakingly scrutinised every work I put before him making the final product world class. He freely and selflessly shared his ideas on any matter of law even when he disagreed with my views. In November, 2004, as a young practitioner with barely one year experience under my belt, I received instructions as defence counsel in perhaps, the most sensational litigation at the time – Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings vrs. 1. Ato Sam 2. Gina Ama Blay 3. Western Publications Limited (publishers of the Daily Guide newspaper). Sheey was of the view that the newspaper had erred in the publication they had made about the former First Lady and that I “should not be wasting time on such matters”. When he realised my determination to take up representation for the defence in the case, he provided due guidance each step of the way. Even though I was alone in court, I was fortified by his support in chambers. When judgment was delivered in October, 2006, my clients had emerged victorious. That case was the watershed in my legal career, thrusting me into prominence and opening the doors to many high profile cases between 2005 and 2010, in which I achieved perfect success, all with the guidance of Sheey. Following that case, I was recommended by Prof. Kwame Karikari as one of five lawyers selected from Africa to join other lawyers from around the world, to pursue a Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford. Sheey was a referee for me in addition to Prof. Karikari.
A distinct quality in Sheey Sheey’s dealings with any lawyer was his magnanimity. He was the embodiment of pro bono law practice in Ghana and inculcated in me the spirit of free (but often very tedious) legal services for various clients, especially in human rights and labour law whose cases travelled all the way to the Supreme Court and eventually found their way into the law reports of Ghana. He unselfishly imparted his knowledge without expectation of a reward and celebrated successes without inhibition. He taught that a lawyer ought to give off his best to any client whether they had paid a fee or not. It was indeed an honour to collaborate with as counsel for a number of labour unions in Ghana, when I was appointed as counsel for the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) in a major labour litigation in 2014, when the Government purported to appoint a sole trustee for the Tier 2 pension scheme of all employees on the Government of Ghana payroll under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766).
More admirable about Sheey was the valour and courage he mustered in defending a cause he deemed right. It is no secret that, generally, he was the voice of conscience in Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co, the barometer for right or wrong, justice or injustice; a gentleman that acted in the noblest motives of men. He never demeaned others when he easily could with his limitless knowledge and gifts. Sheey Sheey, that is our hero!
On Sunday, 18th December, 2016, pursuant to a request by the then President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I presented a paper on the reconstitution of the governing boards of various state-owned enterprises to him, in his study at his Nima residence. The President-elect formally informed me about his decision to appoint me as Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister for Justice with Madam Gloria Afua Akuffo as my boss. Apparently, Sheey Sheey was aware. When I got to the office the following day, Sheey called me for a discussion, affirmed his belief in me to excel in that role and assured me of his continued support and encouraged me to take up the position. That was the emotional impetus I needed for the unchartered path I was about to navigate. The words he spoke were consistent with the keen interest he had taken in my progress in life ever since our paths crossed in 2003.
Over the course of my stay at the Office of the Attorney-General so far, Sheey Sheey has been a source of immense support for the office. He served as an Adviser to the Attorney-General in the historic Ghana v. Cote d’Ivoire Maritime Boundary dispute settled by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg. He was a Member of the Government’s legal team in the conduct of the AngloGold Ghana Limited v. Republic of Ghana arbitration conducted under the ICSID Arbitration Rules in which an award was delivered in 2018. He was a Member of the Committee set up by the Attorney-General in 2018 to review the Report of the Constitution Review Commission, of which I was the Chairman. He served as a member of the Governing Board of the Law Reform Commission from 2017 to 2021. Indeed, when I assumed the mantle as the Attorney-General in 2021, I had no difficulty at all in recommending to the President his appointment as the Chairman of the Law Reform Commission Board, a board whose membership included Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
He was a man of principle, pure and simple. Truly concerned with the general well-being of the Ghanaian society and proper shaping of the developmental course of the country, he did not decline an opportunity to serve Ghana in any capacity in so far as he could, and he would express his candid views on any occasion without fear or favour.
It was with extreme trepidation that on 20th October, 2023, I received news from Mr. Alex Quaynor of another hospitalisation of Uncle Sheey Sheey at the University of Ghana Medical Centre, at a time that I was on my way to attend the Call to the Bar ceremony of new lawyers. I knew Uncle Sheey had been hospitalised months earlier and together with my wife, Joycelyn, we had visited him. He was lucid and teased me about my claim to being a socialist when in his view, I was completely a capitalist (something he regularly did whenever we had time to chat about ourselves). He mustered the strength to walk us out a considerable distance after our visit. I saw him subsequently during the funeral arrangements for his late sister, Princess Consolata. I never suspected that the wicked traps of death would be laid only a few months later. However, when I got the call on that fateful morning of 20th October, 2023, I had a bad feeling about it. I immediately called my wife who, incidentally, happened to be on medical duties at UGMC, to check up on him since I could only visit in the evening after the Call to the Bar of the new lawyers. An hour later, she called back with the sad and shattering news – Sheey Sheey was gone!
Sheey, your legacy is etched into the minds of those who came into contact with you and the stories they share about you. You carved your name on hearts, not tombstones.
Your goodness changed my life. You sought the happiness of others and sacrificed by helping others build their own lives. You gave benevolently to the service of your country and the causes you believed in. If anyone ever lived a good life, that was Sheey. You were kind, loving, and gracious.
I never needed a mentor more. In Sheey Sheey, I got the best.
The great life lessons of honesty, hardwork, respect for others, and confidence in humility you taught myself and others of the Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. ilk will inspire us to continue in your footsteps. By emulating your example of sacrifice, courage, diligence, consistency and self-discovery, I know that we will always succeed wherever we may find ourselves.
Having to write this at your demise is heartbreaking but as Shakespeare reminds us in Macbeth, Act IV, Scene III:
“Give sorrow words
The grief that does not speak
Whispers the o’er-fraught heart
And bids it break”.
Thank you for impacting my life in the way you did. I will never forget, Commander Sheey!!
May the Almighty receive you into his wide peaceful bosom and blot out any transgressions. Continue to rest in perfect peace!!!
Godfred Yeboah Dame
26th November, 2023
