Justice Isaac Newton Kwaku Wuaku Rtd.

Papa was born at Peki Dzake on 29th December 1926. His mother was Madam Irene Abena Kuma Drah, the second wife of Mr. Agodzo Kofi Wuaku, a renowned carpenter/farmer from the Lemenyigbe Clan of Peki, Avetile. Papa was the first of four children from the marriage. Papa spent his early life with his mother at Peki Dzake. At about the age of 6, his father took him to his village at Kunga, where he lived with his father's first wife and other children. In the early 1930s, Papa was taken to Avetile to live with his aunt, Madam Nyantebea, so as to start school. He was admitted to the infant school belonging to the Orthodox Church, called Peace Academy, although Papa's father was then a member of the Bremen Mission Ewe Presbyterian Church. At the beginning of 1936, Mr. Seth Kwame Elewosi Wuaku, aka Fo Seth, of blessed memory, requested of his paternal uncle to allow one of his sons to live with him and be his houseboy at Jasikan, Buem. Papa was chosen for this and Fo Seth became his putative father for the rest of his life. Fo Seth received Papa well. He immediately had Papa admitted to the Local E.P. School where Papa was placed in the kindergarten class because of language difficulties. In 1938, Papa was baptized by the Rev. C.B. Gati under the names Isaac Newton, which Fo Seth had chosen for him. In 1940, Fo Seth was transferred to Accra when the French store he had been keeping in Jasikan was closed down after the fall of France to Germany in World War II. Papa was left behind to stay with his maternal cousin Mr. E.Y. Adu, a teacher from Dzake. Papa completed his primary school education in Jasikan in 1941. He went on to attend Standards 4 and 5 at Worawara E.P. Senior School from 1942 to 1943. His standard 4 teacher, Mr. T.K. Setse, later Rev. Dr. Setse from Dzake took such great liking to Papa that he withdrew him from the boarding school to live with him as one of his houseboys. In 1944, Papa sought transfer from Worawara to Blengo E.P. Senior School where he would complete Standards 6 and 7 as a boarder from 1944 to 1945. He passed the Elementary School Leaving Certificate examination as well as the Mfantsipim School Entrance examinations in December 1945. Papa entered Mfantsipim School at Cape Coast in 1946 along with several friends who became prominent and dignified citizens of Peki, such as Dr. E.D. Kom, G. Atiase, W. Agble, A.R. Ababio and G. Wewornuble. Mr. M.A. Canta from Avetile was Papa's biology teacher and also his house father at Mfantsipim. In his final year at Mfantsipim, Papa was made the Assistant House Prefect for Lockhart House. He sat for and passed the Cambridge School Certificate Examinations in December 1950, obtaining Grade One Certificate, with exemption from the London Matriculation Examination. After secondary school, Papa worked as a Meteorological Observer at the Accra Airport between 1951 and 1952. In 1952, Fo Seth insisted that Papa abandon his civil service job and go to study Law in the United Kingdom. He obeyed, and with a commendation from Dr. J.B. Danquah, a legal luminary and politician, Papa sailed for the United Kingdom in the same year to begin his law studies. He enrolled in the Honourable Society of Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in London that taught Law at the time. Just as he was about to finish his legal studies and return home, Fo Seth advised that Papa must obtain a University Degree before coming back home. Papa therefore entered the University College of London, Gower Street in the summer of 1954. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in July 1957. He also passed his Bar examination in December 1957 and was called to the English Bar on 4 th February 1958 by the Honourable Society of Middle Temple. Papa, now Lawyer Wuaku returned to Ghana in April 1958 to a rousing welcome from his family and the Lemenyigbe Clan. Togbe Ayim Komla was delighted to welcome him back home as the first lawyer from Peki and particularly from Avetile. He slaughtered a sheep for a feast to honour him, as was customary for celebrating great and mighty feats in the community. Papa also paid a formal visit to Deiga Kwadzo Dei X. Deiga sat Papa on his lap and blessed him, wishing him a long and successful law practice. In May 1958, Sir Arku Korsah Esq. enrolled Papa as Lawyer on the rolls of the Ghana Bar. Papa entered the Asiri-Owoahene Chambers of Lawyer Opoku-Akyeampong to begin his law practice. At the same time, Lawyer F.K. Apaloo of Etso Sergbor Chambers invited Papa to be his junior counsel for Togbe Ayim Komla in his action against Ntow Peniana and Togbe Gobo Darke from Tsito, in the Awalime land dispute. In December 1958, Lawyer Opoku-Akyeampong died suddenly. Lawyers B.J. da Rocha, E.N. Moore and Papa, who were junior partners under him before his untimely death, formed a partnership under the name and style of Opoku-Akyeampong and Co. of Asiri-Owoahene Chambers and practiced in Accra as their Headquarters. In July 1960, Lawyer F.K. Apaloo, who later became Chief Justice of Ghana, was appointed a High Court Judge. He therefore handed Togbe Ayim's case to Papa and his co-partners. Papa moved to Ho in September 1961 to represent the partnership for the next nine years before its dissolution in 1969-1970. After the dissolution of the partnership, Papa established his own practice in Ho. As a token of gratitude to his cousin and mentor, Mr. Seth Elewosi Kwame Wuaku, Papa conducted his practice under the name Elewosi Chambers. He had a very large practice, but his fees were ridiculously low because he saw his practice, in part, as a service to humanity. Papa said he once charged a client 80.00 Cedis for a land litigation case. The client could not believe his fortune in this case and in turn, promised to pay 200.00 Cedis if he won the case. Needless to say, this client paid Papa 200.00 Cedis and more for his case. Mind you, this was in the early 1960s when a bag of cement was sold in pesewas. As testament to his hard work and meticulous service, Papa's clients were very generous to him. Gifts to him were varied and numerous, including food stuff and livestock, ranging from fowls, turkeys, goats and even a cow. Elewosi Chambers remained one of the most successful practices of its time, one that saw all three of its junior lawyers, Messrs E.D.K. Adjabeng, T.K. Adzoe, and N.S. Gbadegbe follow Papa through the ranks of the Judicial service to become Judges of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Aside from his private practice, Papa also served in several administrative capacities in public service. Between 1970 and 1972, he served as the Chairman for the Ho Urban Council. He was proud to say it was under his leadership that the Council first attained a three-figure total in tolls collected on a market day. He also served as a member of the Ho Hospital visiting committee, Chairman for the Juvenile Court, a member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Cargo Handling Company in Tema, and a member of the committee to investigate the Tema Development Corporation in 1970. Papa was the Regional Chairman for the Progress Party in consequence whereof he was the first person to be arrested in the Volta Region and detained in the Ho prisons in 1972, after the overthrow of the Busia Government by Colonel I.K. Acheampong. Pap a solemnized his customary marriage with his wife, Mrs. Agnes Eyonam Mansa Wuaku (of blessed memory) on 8 th May 1971 at the E.P. Seminary, Blengo. He and his wife were very active members of the E.P. Church, often taking leadership roles in the church wherever the family was stationed. They were consecrated as Presbyters at Sunyani in May 1986 by Rev. Francis K. Amenu, the local Pastor at the time and Rt. Rev. Professor N.K. Dzobo, the then Moderator of the E.P. Church. When the Moderator, Professor N.K. Dzobo, toured the West Volta Presbytery of the E.P. Church in 1989, Papa was one of six prominent members of the E.P. Church Pastors' Association invited to mediate and try to bring peace and harmony into the church. Papa was a prominent elder in the Labadi E.P. Church community where he and his family have worshipped since their arrival in Accra in late 1986. Papa not only actively worshipped with the church, but often made significant contributions to the development of the church through service, as well as fiscal donations. For instance, when Catechist Aaron Nkulenu was at Avetile, he wanted to fence the chapel in preparation for the centenary celebration of the church. He sought the help of Papa in procuring cement for the project. Although a bag of cement at the time cost less than a cedi, it was very difficult to obtain. Papa obtained one hundred bags of cement for the church at the factory price from Tema, with free transport to Peki. In September 1977, Papa was appointed a High Court Judge. His first station was at Cape Coast where he served until his transfer to Sunyani in October 1983. He was stationed in Sunyani from October 1983 to April 1986. He also served as the vacation judge for Sekondi and Takoradi while at Cape Coast, and the vacation judge for Kumasi while serving at Sunyani. It was said of him that as a judge in the High Court, Papa did not leave any partly heard case when leaving on transfer. He was courteous to both litigants and counsel, and indeed, to all those who appeared before him. He was always punctual to court. In April of 1986, Papa was promoted to the Court of Appeals, and he came to Accra in November 1986. Barely a year later, he was promoted to the Supreme Court in December 1987. In the Supreme Court, he served as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Judicial Service. He also served as a member of the Judicial Council, as well as the Legal Council. In 1990, Papa led the Ghana delegation to the Third Commonwealth of Africa Judicial Conference in Livingstone, Zambia. He retired from the Judicial Service compulsorily on 1 st April 1993. In 2002, His Excellency President John Agyekum Kufour appointed Papa the Chairman of a three member commission of inquiry to investigate the events leading to the March 25-to-27 riots in Yendi that caused the deaths of several people, including the Yaa Naa Yakuba Andani II, King of the Dagbon. One of the greatest honours bestowed on Papa was the Citation and Certificate of Honour and Recognition presented to him by Togbui Asor Bortsi XII, Chief of Lemenyigbe Tsidomhene when he celebrated his 25 Silver Jubilee Anniversary on 18th November 2006. Both in and out of his legal practice, Papa played a major part in the prosecution of the Awalime lands dispute with Awudome Tsito. The least said here the better. Nonetheless, it should be gratifying to record that Lawyers I.N.K Wuaku (Papa), Dr. E.C. Djamson, and B.J. da Rocha were very instrumental in resurrecting the Awalime lands dispute when it suffered the unmitigated debacle in 1979. In life, Papa was humble and unassuming. He was not only a giant in the legal profession in Ghana and a stalwart citizen of Peki, he was a protector, comforter, and a father to many. Papa passed away peacefully on Friday 3 rd April 2020 in Accra, at 93 years of age. He was predeceased by his parents; his wife, Agnes Enyonam Mansa Wuaku; his daughter, Agnes Emefa Wuaku, and 12 siblings. He left behind five children: Patricia, Malcolm, Mary-Ann, Irene, Prosper, and Delali; three grandchildren: Hilda, Nathaniel, and Senanu; two great grandchildren; two siblings and several nieces and nephews.