All things being equal, Ghana will soon be welcoming another female Chief Justice, to lead the third arm of government. This is following the nomination of Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo by the President last Wednesday as the next Chief Justice. 

What a great feat for the women of Ghana as one waits expectantly for her approval by the Parliament of Ghana. Indeed, Ghanaian women have come far and to see women of excellence trailblasing at such heights gladdens the heart.

The theme selected by the UN to celebrate last year’s International Day of Women, “Breaking the bias: shattering the glass ceiling” is going to become a third-time reality, for the country’s judiciary.

The President’s nomination is good tidings not only for the judiciary and the women of Ghana but also for the nation. After 66 years of independence, if we cannot celebrate optimum development in the country, we can at least celebrate a modicum of progress for women in some sectors of nation-building.

Our history of independence and post-independence has been written and has been redefined with the contribution of women in some critical areas. As one continues to salute all such women, let me stay in the area of the judiciary and stand up for the contribution of Justice Annie Jiagge, for example. 

Her contributions then as Ghana’s first female lawyer and the first female Appeal Court judge, then the highest court in the country, helped push certain critical laws that affected the well-being of women in this country.

Certainly after her, there have been and there will be many more female judges whose contributions have helped shape inimical laws affecting the progression of women in our society. A celebration of all those women is in order.

Wey Gey Hey link

Going further however to pick on the top leadership of the judiciary in Ghana, history will certainly highlight one interesting development that links two recent female Chief Justices, Justice (Rtd.) Georgina Wood and Justice (Rtd.) Sophia Akuffo to Gertrude Torkonoo’s nomination. If approved, all three are proud old students of Wesley Girls’ High School (Wey Gey Hey).

Much goes to support the often touted credentials of this girls’ school which many parents run after.  Arguably the oldest girls’ secondary school in the country, Wey Gey Hey continues to be a centre for academic excellence and moral fortitude for young women in this country. The light that was lit in setting up the school some 186 years ago by some selfless Wesleyan missionaries continues aglow. 

On this occasion, therefore, one cannot help but to rejoice with the school’s old and current students as well as past and present teachers for sustained excellence.

Products from the school continue to brightly beam in all areas they find themselves both within and outside the country. So it is not surprising that we could be having a possible third Chief Justice coming from there.

Noticeably, the old girls who have walked through the gates of the school are most of the time conscious that the values of the school also stayed with them. Such values teach students to respect each other no matter their social background. 

A place where some, for the first time, will learn how to scrub floors and bathrooms. Where girls are taught to relate with villagers in their communities and help disadvantaged children in ways they can as was done on “Village Sundays” and learn to share whatever one has.

Motto

Proudly, the school’s motto has been a guiding principle, encouraging girls to live pure, to speak true, to right any wrong they come across as long as it depended on them and to follow the one and only King, Jesus Christ. The framers of the motto believed in shaping women who were both of moral and spiritual fortitude for the world.

And they have not been far from wrong. Nearly two centuries on, the school continues producing the kind of future mothers, wives and leaders in the communities they found themselves.

Those values bind old girls of different age groups together as peers, no matter the difference in years.  There is always that common denominator shared or passed on.

That is why old girls and students alike will be celebrating the nomination of Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, praying fervently that her nomination will be approved so she will tread the paths of her seniors, Justices Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.

All old girls, ancient and modern wish her well. A woman of solid faith who changes hearts at Full Gospel Men’s Fellowship and prays for men and women to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. She is a woman with excellent credentials both at the bar and the bench.

Her Ladyship has been a true modicum of her school’s motto, living pure, speaking true, righting the wrong and following her King and Lord. We could not have had a better nominee to fill the gap when the current Chief Justice retires in a month’s time.

So we raise glasses and toast three big cheers from all the old girls of Wey Gey Hey to a dear colleague, praying that success would crown her nomination.