Author: Beyonce Diamond Kpogli
The Parish Priest of Christ the King in Accra, Very Rev. FR. Dr. Ebenezer Akesseh has urged Ghanaian Judges to see their profession or vocation as a calling to give themselves away.
Father Akesseh described a martyr as a witness adding, “the highest form of a martyr is shedding ones blood”.
“Yours may not be shedding of your blood but insults and threats and false accusations and may be no promotion.
But find comfort in the words of Jesus Christ that blessed are you who are persecuted and falsely accused.”
According to Father Akesseh, martyrs of Christianity led to the growth and flourishing of the faith.He said the suffering of the three judges should also lead lawyers and judges to witness in theirprofession with integrity and resilience.
He said this while delivering his sermon at the 41st Martyrs Day Remembrance Service on Friday 30th June 2023 at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka Accra.
Martyrs Day is set aside to commemorate the abduction and killing of three judges of the high court and a retired army officer.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo joined the Ghana Bar Association and the Judiciary to mark the 41st anniversary of the remembrance service for three murdered High Court Judges.
Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo and Justice of the Superior and Lower Court also witnessed the ceremony.
The three victims were Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Mrs Justice Cecelia Koranteng-Addow, Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, and Major Sam Acquah a retired army officer.
The fellows were abducted from their various homes on June 30th, 1982, and murdered at the Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains.
The bodies of these precious Ghanaians had been soaked with petrol and set on fire. Divine intervention, through a heavy downpour that night, quenched the burning bodies. When discovered, the charred bodies had deteriorated into a state of decomposition.
As a result, June 30th every year has been declared as Martyrs Day by the Ghana Bar Association and the Judicial Service to hold a series of events in their memories.
The event was also graced by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor, Judges from the Supreme Court, High Court, families of the deceased, among others.
