Kufuor attends funeral of ex-Chief Justice

Accra, Oct. 14, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor and the wife, Theresa, on Friday joined hundreds of mourners from all walks of life who gathered at the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity, High Street, Accra, for the funeral service for the late Justice Samuel Azu Crabbe, a former Chief Justice.

Also present were Chief Justice George Kingsley Acquah, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, the Foreign Minister, Mr Ayikwei Otoo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and Mr Kwami Tetteh, President of the Ghana Bar Association.

Various tributes extolling the late Chief Justice's sublime principles of honour, dignity, decency, loyalty and commitment to just causes as well as his contributions to the advancement of the legal profession and development of Ghana were read on behalf of the Government, Judiciary, the Bar, Family, Church and friends. The Attorney General read that of the Government.

The Reverend Emmanuel A. Armah, Minister in Charge of the Cathedral, who said the Homily, told Ghanaians not to associate all top officials of State with corruption.

He said it was wrong to assume that every one who got to the top was corrupt and said the life of the late eminent Jurist attested to this fact.

The Late Azu Crabbe was born in James Town, Accra, on November 18, 1918, and was appointed Chief Justice in 1973. Earlier in the day, President Kufuor and the wife had attended another funeral service for the late Theodore Kodjo Agadzi, a lawyer and former Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dayi, during the Second Republic held at the Reverend Dr Nantoma Presbyterian Church, Kanda. He died at the age of 86.

The late Agadzi was the classmate of President Kufuor and former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere at the Middle Temple Inn, United Kingdom (UK) where they pursued law studies. Running through the tributes read at the service was the acknowledgement of his extraordinary generosity, courage of his convictions and strong Christian beliefs.