Tsatsu Tsikata

Last updated

Tsatsu Tsikata
Born (1950-10-01) 1 October 1950 (age 73)
Keta, Ghana
Nationality Ghanaian
Education University of Ghana
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Occupations
Spouse Esther Cobbah
Children3
ParentGodwin Kwaku-Sru Tsikata
Relatives Kojo Tsikata (uncle)

Tsatsu Tsikata (born on 1 October 1950) is a Ghanaian academic and lawyer. He is also a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. He is a notable affiliate and legal counsel to the National Democratic Congress and regarded as one of the leading members of the political party. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

[ citation needed ]Tsikata was born in Keta in the south of the Volta Region of Ghana. [4] He was however brought up in Adabraka, a suburb of Accra, the capital of Ghana. He started school at an early age because he wanted to follow his older brother Fui to school. He first attended Additrom Preparatory School and then Mrs Sam's Preparatory School, a school also attended by former President of Ghana Jerry Rawlings. He was again moved to Accra Newtown Experimental School, where he was jumped from Year 2 to Year 3, catching up with his older brother Fui. [5] He won a United Africa Company (UAC) scholarship in 1960 to start his secondary education at the age of nine at the Mfantsipim School where his father and his elder brother, Fui Sokpoli Tsikata also attended. [5] [6] On completion of his five-year course, he gained admission into the University of Ghana, Legon, at the age of 14, where he obtained an LL.B First Class degree at the age of 18 years. Only one other 18-year-old had completed a degree programme at that time. His lecturers included Professor Ofosu Amaah and Dr. Obed Asamoah, a former foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana. [5] He then won a post-graduate scholarship from the University of Ghana to Oxford University where he again obtained first class honours in Bachelor of Civil Law which is equivalent to a master's degree at other British universities.

Career

Academic

Tsikata held a Junior Research Fellowship at Corpus Christi College Oxford University where he also served as a tutor. [7] [8] [9] On his return to Ghana in 1974, he was appointed a lecturer at the law faculty of the University of Ghana. Some of his students included Kwamena Ahwoi, Alban Bagbin, former majority leader in the Parliament of Ghana and current speaker of the 8th parliament of Ghana, almost all the justices of the current Supreme Court of Ghana including Justice Victor Mawulom Dotse, the Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, Justice Yaw Appau, [5] [10] former majority leader in the Parliament of Ghana and Freddie Blay, former first deputy speaker in the Parliament of Ghana. [11]

Barrister

Tsikata has served as counsel to a number of notable personalities over the years. These include Captain Kojo Tsikata, his cousin, Kofi Awoonor and President Jerry Rawlings in 1979. During the era of the National Redemption Council/Supreme Military Council military regimes of Acheampong, he defended Samuel Okudjeto and William Ofori Atta who stood trial for political reasons. After the May 15 Uprising in 1979, he was counsel for Jerry Rawlings during the treason trial that came to an abrupt end when the SMC military government led by Fred Akuffo was overthrown on 4 June 1979. [7] He was the lead Counsel for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in an electoral petition in Ghana. He was the lead counsel for the NDC during the first ever electoral petition trial filed by the opposition New Patriotic Party challenging the results of the 2012 elections. [12] The NDC filed a joinder to be the third respondent of this case. [13] He was the lead counsel for John Mahama in the 2020 election petition against the electoral commission and the president. [14]

Ghana National Petroleum Corporation

Tsikata was appointed the Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) from October 1988 to December 2000 by the then ruling NDC led by Jerry Rawlings.

Trial, jail and pardon

Tsikata was tried for causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state whilst CEO of Ghana National Petroleum Company after a trial through the Accra Fast Track Tribunal, one of many set up by the Kufuor government to try such cases. The trial started in 2002 and lasted for six years. He was pronounced guilty on 18 June 2008 by Mrs. Justice Hernrietta Abban. [15] The length of the trial is reputed to be the longest ever involving a former government official in the history of the country. Those loyal to President Kufuor's New Patriotic Party government hailed this as a triumph for the judicial system while Tsikata's sympathizers and National Democratic Congress supporters saw the trial as politically motivated. [16] This led to the formation of the "Free Tsatsu Movement". [17] He was granted an unconditional pardon by the then President John Kufuor on his last day of office after his party, the New Patriotic Party lost the Ghanaian presidential election, 2008. At the time, he was on admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital under prison guard following a severe bout of asthma. [18] Tsatsu Tsikata rejected the presidential pardon and announced at a forum later that he felt the pardon was not in good faith and that he would fight through the court system to clear his name. [19] [20]

Bail, appeal and exoneration

After rejecting the presidential pardon, by 13 January 2009, Tsikata was granted bail by Justice Edward Amoako Asante at an Accra Fast-Track high court pending appeal meaning he was no longer required to be in jail although he was still admitted at the hospital due to his asthmatic attack. [21] [22] [23] After 8 years of being charged with causing financial loss to the state, on 30 November 2016, he was declared innocent by an Appeals Court presided over by Justice Dennis Adjei and his 5-year jail term was quashed. [24] [21] [25] [26]

Personal and social life

Tsikata is Christian and an elder of the Asbury Dunwell Church in Accra. [7] He is a known asthmatic and this appears to have limited his extracurricular activities and school attendance as a child. After he was jailed in 2008, he had an acute asthmatic attack that took him from the Nsawam prisons to intensive care. Tsikata has been a keen cricketer in the past.

Family

Tsikata is one of seven siblings. [1] His father was Godwin Kwaku-Sru Tsikata, a retired Textiles Sales Manager with the United Africa Corporation (UAC). He is married to Esther Cobbah [27] [28] and they have three children. Award-winning Ghanaian musician, M.anifest, is one of his children. [29] [2] [30] [31] His older brother Fui Tsikata is also a well known lawyer in Ghana as is his sister Doe Tsikata. [32] He also has another brother Dotse Tsikata.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kufuor</span> President of Ghana from 2001 to 2009

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He became the Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Evans Atta Mills at the end of Jerry Rawlings' second term marked the first transition of power in Ghana from a democratic government to another democratic government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Patriotic Party</span> Political party in Ghana

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a centre-right and liberal-conservative political party in Ghana. Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian politics, with its leading rival being the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC). John Kufuor of the NPP was President of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. At the elections held on 7 December 2004, the party won 129 out of 230 seats. The NPP candidate was Kufuor, who was re-elected as president with 52.75% of the vote. The New Patriotic Party symbol is the African elephant and the New Patriotic Party colours are red, white, and blue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Rawlings</span> Leader of Ghana between 1979 and 2001

Jerry John Rawlings was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Democratic Congress (Ghana)</span> Political party in Ghana

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a social democratic political party in Ghana, founded by Jerry Rawlings, who was Head of State of Ghana from 1981 to 1993 and the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001. Following the formation of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), which ruled Ghana following the military coup d'état on 31 December 1981, there was pressure from the international community to restore democracy. The NDC was formed as the ruling party ahead of elections in 1992, in which Rawlings was elected president, and in 1996 Rawlings was re-elected as the NDC candidate. Rawlings' second term ended in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Atta Mills</span> President of Ghana from 2009 to 2012

John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election. He was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He is the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mfantsipim School</span> All-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana

Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and the first headmaster was James Picot, a French scholar, who was only 18 years old on his appointment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Ghana</span> Parliament in Ghana since 1950

The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obed Asamoah</span> Ghanaian lawyer and politician

Obed Yao Asamoah is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. Asamoah was the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at King's College London and at Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Azu Crabbe</span> Ghanaian barrister, solicitor and jurist and a former Chief Justice.

Samuel Azu Crabbe was a Ghanaian barrister, solicitor and jurist. He was the fifth Chief Justice of Ghana since it became an independent nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Francis Annan</span> Judge and former Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana (1928-2006)

Justice Daniel Francis Kweipe Annan was a Ghanaian politician and judge. He served as Speaker of the 1st & 2nd parliaments of Ghana's Fourth Republic from 1993 to 2001. He was a member of the Provisional National Defence Council which governed Ghana prior the Fourth Republic from 1985 to 1992, and was Chairman of the National Commission for Democracy within this period. Prior to joining the executive arm of government in 1985, he had been a judge of the Ghanaian Court of Appeal.

Enoch Teye Mensah, commonly known as E. T. Mensah, was a Ghanaian politician. He was aMember of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram from 7 January 1997 to 7 January 2017 and held ministerial offices in the presidential administrations of Jerry Rawlings from 1993 to 2001 and John Atta Mills from 2010 to 2012 in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Ghanaian history</span>

Ghana gained independence from the British on 6 March 1957. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country became a republic on July 1, 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M.anifest</span> Ghanaian rapper and musician (born 1982)

Kwame Ametepee Tsikata, known professionally as M.anifest, is a Ghanaian musician, rapper and record producer.

Joachim Amartey Quaye was a Ghanaian politician. He was found guilty of involvement in the murder of four Ghanaian citizens and executed by a firing squad in 1982.

Theodore Kwami Adzoe was a Ghanaian Supreme Court Judge.

Clend Mawuko Sowu was a Ghanaian politician, soldier, member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana and Member of Parliament for the Anlo Constituency. He also served as Minister of Works and Housing and Regional Minister of the Volta Region during the Jerry John Rawlings government.

Kojo Tsikata was a Ghanaian military officer and politician, who served as the Head of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). He was listed as a retired army captain in the Ghana Army.

Ibrahim Adam is a Ghanaian politician and animal scientist. He was the member of parliament for the Choggo/Tishigu constituency in the Northern Region of Ghana between January 1997 and January 2001.

Robert Nii Djan Dodoo (1934-2014) was a Ghanaian civil servant. He was Head of the Civil Service from 1994 to 2001 during Jerry Rawlings civilian rule. He had served previously as executive director of the Price and Incomes Board.

On 30 June 1982 three high court judges and a retired army officer were abducted from their homes between the hours of 9:00pm and 10:30pm GMT and murdered at the Bundase military shooting range near Accra. The murders led to public outcry and the formation of a Special Investigations Board (SIB) to investigate the events. The report of the SIB led to the charging and trial of the perpetrators who were subsequently sentenced to death by firing squad. This event is now commemorated on 30 June every year as Martyrs Day in Ghana.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata". Africa Confidential. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 "I wish I had creative skills to do music like my son -Tsatsu Tsikata". The Chronicle Online. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata, Biography". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "PROFILE:The UNICORN- A Brilliant Performance". Free Tsatsu Tsikata Now Campaign. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009. If the record of scholarship holders is up to date you will notice that Tsatsu was born on first October 1950 at Keta and will therefore be 19 on 1st October 1969, and not 20 as incorrectly published in the Graphic.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Augustina Tawiah. "PROFILE:From The Junior Graphic". Junior Graphic. Free Tsatsu Tsikata Now Campaign. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  6. ↑ Unknown. "Free Tsatsu Tsikata Campaign" (PDF). Free Tsatsu Tsikata Campaign. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 "PROFILE:Biography". Free Tsatsu Tsikata Campaign. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  8. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata, Biography". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata | University of Ghana Alumni Relations Office". ar.ug.edu.gh. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata, Biography". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata | University of Ghana Alumni Relations Office". ar.ug.edu.gh. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Citifmonline | Most comprehensive and credible Political, Business, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Health and General news website in Ghana". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  13. ↑ www.ghanaweb.com › News › 2013-01-23 [ permanent dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Election Petition: EC 'running away' from cross-examination - Tsikata alleges - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Tsikata Gets 5 Years!". GhanaWeb. 18 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  16. ↑ "Political Café - The Trial and Conviction of Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata: Any Implications for Political Polarisation and the Electioneering Campaign for December 2008?". Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  17. ↑ "Free Tsatsu Tsikata Now". Free Tsatsu Movement. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  18. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata Freed!". MyJoyOnline. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  19. ↑ "The pardon was not in good faith - Tsikata". GhanaWeb. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  20. ↑ "File submissions on Tsatsu's Presidential Pardon". GhanaWeb. 25 February 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  21. 1 2 "Tsikata: I Never Relied On Kufuor Pardon, I Was Granted Bail". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Tsatsu granted bail - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Tsatsu Gets Bail". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Tsatsu is innocent; Conviction & 5-year jail term quashed". www.ghanaweb.com. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  25. ↑ "Tsatsu Tsikata 'not guilty' of causing financial loss – Court of Appeal". Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  26. ↑ AfricaNews (2 December 2016). "Ghana court rules that top politician was unjustly jailed in 2008". Africanews. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  27. ↑ Kwasi Adu (29 November 2009). "Is The President Listening?". PeaceFm Online. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  28. ↑ "IPRA | Esther COBBAH". www.ipra.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  29. ↑ M.anifest
  30. ↑ "I'm proud of M.anifest - Tsatsu Tsikata lauds son". www.ghanaweb.com. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  31. ↑ CitiTube, CitiTv (17 December 2015). "Tsatsu Tsikata opens up about his son M.anifest". YouTube . Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  32. ↑ "People | DLA Piper Africa, Ghana | Reindorf Chambers". DLA Piper Africa. DLA Piper. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.