Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong
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November 1926
Oyoko, Ashanti Region, Gold Coast
Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong | |
|---|---|
| High Court judge | |
| In office 1977–1982 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong November 1926 Oyoko, Ashanti Region, Gold Coast |
| Died | 30 June 1982 (aged 55) Accra, Ghana |
| Cause of death | Murder (gunshot wound) |
Buried | |
| Spouse | Comfort Agyapong |
| Children | 10 including Kwabena Agyapong |
| Education | Mfantsipim School |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Ghanaian High court judge |
| Known for |
|
| Monuments | Memorial to the Martyrs of the Rule of Law in front of the Supreme Court of Ghana buildings |
Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong was a Ghanaian judge and one of the three judges murdered following their abduction on 30 June 1982.[1][2]
Born in Oyoko in the Ashanti Region in November 1926.[3] Agyapong's early education began at the Asokore Local Authority Methodist Primary School and the Sekondi Methodist Church School. In 1942, he earned a scholarship to study at Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, for his secondary education. After obtaining his Cambridge school certificate in 1946, he entered Wesley College where he was awarded his grade A Teachers' Certificate. In 1954, Agyapong gained a Cocobod scholarship to study at King's College, a constituent college of the University of London. There he studied law and obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1958. He was called to the English bar at the Inner Temple in February 1960.[3][4]
Career
Following his studies at Wesley College, Agyapong returned to Mfantsipim School to teach. Amongst his students at the time were Joseph W.S. de Graft-Johnson (former Vice-President of Ghana) and Isaac Kobina Abban (former Chief Justice of Ghana).[3][4] He also had teaching stints at the Ghana National College, the Accra Academy, and Accra High School.[3]
After completing his legal studies in the United Kingdom, Agyapong returned to Ghana in 1961 to begin private legal practice.[3][4][5] He later founded a law firm together with his friend, Kwabena Adu-Tutu Amankwah at Adum in Kumasi.[3]
Following recommendations from the presiding judge of the Ashanti Region and the Ghana Judicial Council, Agyapong was made a justice of the High Court in 1977.[3] In 1980, he made history by being the only High Court judge to sit on the then transitional Supreme Court bench in the hearing of the historical constitutional case between the then People's National Party (PNP) government and Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor.[3][4]
In May 1979, he was appointed chairman of the Committee of Enquiry that investigated the case of the Accra Railway shooting incident that saw the death of a second-year student of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana by a police constable. In his report in June 1980, he lamented the unwarranted use of ammunition by the police in a rather peaceful students' demonstration.[3][4]
Personal life
Agyapong was married to Mrs. Comfort Agyapong.[3][6] His last child was three months old at the time of his abduction.[7] He was the father of Kwabena Agyapong, the former secretary of the New Patriotic Party.[7]