Who Is W.E.D. Akufo-Addo?

There is something I do not quite get to be right here. Is this entirely about the quality of the reporting, or really what is going on in court? I refrain from any comments on the case, but I cannot refrain from the way the case is being reported. A few weeks ago, we were made to believe via press reports that Justice Kpegah had filled a case against Nana Akufo-Addo:

“According to the plaintiff, the defendant was not known to have changed his name, neither had he been installed anywhere in the country within the meaning of the 1992 Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act.

According to the statement, the defendant was impersonating W.A.D. Akufo-Addo, who is on the roll of lawyers as number 1190.

It said claims by the defendant that he obtained his early education at Government Boys' School and later Kinbu before proceeding to the UK for his Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates implied that he obtained his Ordinary and Advanced certificates in the UK.

It said Nana Akufo-Addo returned to the UK to read Law and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) as Number 1190 on the roll of lawyers in Ghana." See: Akufo-Addo, Kpegah face off in court, General News of 2013-04-07.

Indeed, there is not a single news story under which the name, “W.E.D. Akufo-Addo” appeared in the petition, so I was taken aback with the subtle change of initials in the legal response to the issues raised by the retired Justice of the Supreme Court against him, read:

“While further regarding the position of the retired Justice of the Supreme Court as an abuse of the process of the court, Nana Akufo-Addo added that it is devoid of a reasonable cause of action.

'I am further advised by counsel and verily believe same to be true that the Plaintiff's action fails to canvass facts necessary to form the basis of any issue worthy of a proper hearing by this honourable court,' the supporting affidavit stressed.

While rubbishing the position of the retired Supreme Court Justice in paragraph 5 of his pleadings that he (Nana Akufo-Addo) 'was impersonating one W.E.D Akufo-Addo who was called to the middle Temple on 22nd July, 1971 and is on the Roll of Lawyers in Ghana as No.1190”, the NPP leader wondered why in another breath of the same pleadings the plaintiff claimed that “the person I am impersonating is not W.E.D Akufo-Addo who is also on the same roll of lawyers with the same No 1190'.

The foregone, according to him, smacks of frivolity and founded on mischief, since 'I cannot be impersonating two persons with the same number on the same roll of lawyers in Ghana.” See: Punish Kpegah – Akuffo-Addo tells court | General News 2013-04-08.

Is this really what is going on? Is someone deliberately trying to undermine Nana Akufo-Addo with such “errors”? I am inclined to believe that the use of W.E.D. or W.A.D in the initials of any person necessarily creates grounds for impersonation. Are we by this apparently well-crafted response, being told that indeed, the bearer of both certificate's real name is W.E.D.

Akufo-Addo and not W.A.D. Akufo-Addo? Where does that lead us to, if not a vindication of the claims by Justice Kpegah as regards impersonation? Thus, if indeed, this purported response bears such a monumental “typographical error” pregnant with significant connotations, the press need to be aware of the fact that case itself is about an accusation of incompetence as a lawyer on trial for competence, and that such errors, if indeed, they are coming from the press, may easily prejudge the matter, as far as competence is concerned.

It appears from these news reports that we have two Akufo-Addos in the story. One who goes by the name, W.E.D. Akufo-Addo, and the other who goes by W.A.D. Akufo-Addo. We all know Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo as William Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. This it comes as a significant surprise to see the same name, W.E.D. Akufo-Addo, twice in the same document filed in court by Nana Akufo Addo's lawyer. According to their own defence, the name of the individual in question as quoted by the plaintiff was WED Akufo Addo. There is no effort seen to be linking WED Akufo-Addo to WAD Akufo-Addo. Should it happen that the name on the roll of register of lawyers in Ghana happens to be W.E.D. Akufo-Addo, as is being claimed by the defence, then Mr. W.A.D. Akufo-Addo has questions to answer, if he is also claiming to be a lawyer. The response begs the question.

Why come up with WED Akufo-Addo's registration on any roll, when the matter is about WAD Akufo-Addo's legal qualifications? Curiously enough, the name in the petition is also W.A.D. Akufo-Addo! Apparently, no one has mentioned W.E.D. Akufo-Addo in the petition, so how the Akufo-Addo team supposedly got it so wrong must remain a mystery. One cannot help but recollect the story “no one has mentioned the name of a dead goat!” Once upon a time, a pregnant goat of the local chief of a village got missing. It grieved him deep in the heart as to bestow a special price for anyone who would help him to catch the thief. Whilst the word was going around the village, the three culprits were enjoying a good hot soup filled to the brim with goat meat, in the forest.

Upon their arrival into the village, they went to the local akpeteshie bar.

“Please, bar man, give me some water to first wash down a good meal”. Said the first goat thief.

“Did we not say we shall not talk about this to anyone?” Asked the second goat thief.

“Did you hear him mention a “dead goat” in what he said?”

The bar man was quick to win the price. He had them all arrested. End of story.

Of course, we now know from the Akufo-Addo defence that “one W.E.D Akufo-Addo... was called to the middle Temple on 22nd July, 1971 and is on the Roll of Lawyers in Ghana as No.1190”. So who is W.E.D. Akufo-Addo? Where does the W.A.D. Akufo-Addo that we know come in into all this? Where is his own number?

I think this is a matter of public interest that this becomes incumbent on Nana Akufo-Addo to explain to the press to dispel any misapprehensions arising out of the obvious confusion of first names.

According Justice Kpegah in a “MEDIA RED ALERT” he released in reaction to what he called “name calling, castigation on the air waves by paid agents and assigns of NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO or the death threats directed at me and my family”, and vowing these would not “make me renege on my decision to ensure that justice is done,” he wrote:

“1 will be securing an order from the courts directed at the Coroner of Accra to exhume the mortal remains of the dead body that was found under very mysterious and inexplicable circumstances in the Law Chambers of NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO and buried under even more mysterious circumstances.

The case must be revisited for all Ghanaians to know what really happened to the victim whose right to life as guaranteed by the 1992 constitution was truncated. Those who aspire to rule this Country must come just as in the Law of equity 'with clean hands'.” See: Justice Kpegah Warns Nana Akufo Addo, March 27, 2013.

So the question again, who is W.E.D. Akufo-Addo?