Honorific-Prefix: | Her Ladyship Justice |
Birth Place: | Ghana |
Nationality: | Ghanaian |
Occupation: | Judge |
Profession: | Lawyer, Judge |
Predecessor2: | Joseph Wowo |
Predecessor1: | Margaret Ramsay-Hale |
Office1: | Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands |
Termstart1: | 1 April 2020 |
Termend2: | 3 February 2014 |
Termstart2: | 1 August 2013 |
Office2: | Chief Justice of The Gambia |
Successor2: | Ali Nawaz Chowhan |
Birth Name: | Mabel Betty Banful |
Mabel Maame Agyemang (; formerly also Yamoa) is the current Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[1] [2] An expert superior court judge with a judicial career spanning decades, Justice Agyemang served in the judiciaries of the governments of Ghana, The Gambia and Eswatini prior to her current role in the Turks and Caicos Islands.[3] She was also the first female Chief Justice of The Gambia.[4] [5]
Justice Agyemang had her secondary school education at Wesley Girls Senior High School in Cape Coast.[6] She attended the University of Ghana and then furthered her education at the Ghana School of Law (Professional Law Course).[7]
Justice Agyemang was called to the Ghanaian Bar in 1987 and joined the Bench shortly after. As a Ghanaian judge, she served in various judicial capacities and sat in a number of jurisdictions including Accra, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Kumasi, and Tema. She also served as vice-president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana from 1996 to 2000.[8] She was elevated to the High Court in 2002.[9]
She began working for the Commonwealth Secretariat as an expert judge in 2004, first being sent to The Gambia where she spent four years as a High Court judge.[10] During her four-year tenure in The Gambia, Justice Agyemang served the Land, Civil, Commercial and Criminal divisions and successfully completed about 365 files.[10] In 2008, she was seconded to Eswatini where she served for two years in a similar capacity.[3] Her cases in Eswatini spanned both private and public law and included cases on defamation, unlawful arrests, police brutality and electoral disputes.[3] One of her notable judgments in Eswatini was her judgment on the right to free education.[11] Justice Agyemang returned to The Gambia in 2010, still with the Commonwealth Secretariat, as an expert Appeal Court Judge.[12]
She was appointed Chief Justice of The Gambia in August 2013.[5] [13] Her appointment was widely seen as an inspired choice as she is seen by the international community as an experienced and independent minded judge.[14] She served until her abrupt removal in February 2014. There was no official reason given by the Gambian government as to the cause of dismissal.[15] [16] [17] It is suspected by many in the international judicial community that her dismissal was tied to differences over a human rights abuse case[18] and her insistence on judicial independence.[19]
Upon returning to her native Ghana, Justice Agyemang was sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.[20] In October 2015, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a new judicial complex in Accra, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama cited Justice Agyemang as an example of highly respected judges within the Ghanaian judiciary.[21]
In February 2020, Nigel Dakin, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, announced the appointment of Justice Agyemang as Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands.[2] In his announcement speech, Governor Dakin noted of Agyemang's sudden departure from The Gambia in 2014:[2] He went on to relay, as he stated, "evidence provided by the Bar Council in The Gambia", of her value and influence in the role:[2] Justice Agyemang was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands on March 30, 2020, and took office on April 1, 2020.[1]
Justice Agyemang is a devout Christian and is married with two children.