Asset declaration: The Supreme Court lords who disregarded the law

Four judges of Ghana’s Supreme Court, who were appointed in 2023 and 2024, have not declared their assets and liabilities in accordance with the law.

These legal brains, who rose to the peak of legal practice and swore to defend the Constitution, did not perform a key legal requirement of their office.

The Asset Declaration Law, Act 550, stipulates that public officeholders, including judges, declare their assets within six months after they are appointed.

The Fourth Estate obtained the full list of public office holders who had declared their assets by April 17, 2025, from the Audit Service through a Right to Information (RTI) request.

Justice George Kingsley Koomson

The data revealed that Supreme Court judge, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, has been in office for 24 months without declaring his assets and liabilities, as required under Article 286 of the Constitution and the Assets Declaration Law, Act 550. He should have complied with the law by October 2024.

Justice Koomson joined the bar as an assistant state attorney in November 1990 and became a Circuit Court judge in 2000. He rose to the High Court in 2008 and was appointed a Court of Appeal Judge in 2020. Three years later, he was elevated to the Supreme Court in April 2023.

Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie

Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, who swore fidelity to the law on December 22, 2023, as a Supreme Court judge, also did not perform his constitutional responsibility by June 2024.

Justice Kwofie became a Circuit Court judge in 1998. Six years later, he rose to the High Court, where he spent nine years before he was  appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2015 and then to the Supreme Court in 2024.

Yaw Asare Darko & Richard Adjei Frimpong

Two other Supreme Court justices – Yaw Asare Darko and Richard Adjei Frimpong – who both took office in January 2024, have also not fulfilled their asset declaration obligations. By June 2024, they should have both deposited their declarations with the Audit Service.

For Justice Darko, he joined the bench as a Court of Appeal judge in 2019 after decades in private practice. He was sworn into office by President Akufo-Addo on January 3, 2024 as a Supreme Court judge.

On the other hand, Justice Adjei Frimpong started his career as a district magistrate in 2003, became a circuit court judge in 2004 and a High Court judge in 2010. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2020 before his promotion to the Supreme Court in November 2024.

This breach of constitutional duty raises concerns about transparency and accountability within the judiciary, especially given the critical role judges play in upholding the rule of law.

On May 28, 2025, The Fourth Estate wrote to the five Supreme Court judges, requesting to know their asset declaration status.

Only Justice George Kingsley Koomson responded.

A letter dated June 2, 2025, signed on his behalf, provided evidence of a declaration made on the same day.

Reacting to The Fourth Estate’s findings, Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti–Corruption Coalition (GACC), said the failure of the judges to declare their assets and obligations is regrettable.

“The judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding the law and must adhere to the highest standards of compliance, particularly with asset declaration,” she said. “Enforcing a law while breaching it erodes public trust and undermines judicial integrity. To restore and maintain citizens’ trust, the judiciary should implement robust internal measures, including verification of compliance with asset declaration, and apply sanctions for non-compliance.”

Article 286 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “a person who holds a public office mentioned in clause (5) of this Article shall submit to the Auditor-General, a written declaration of all property or assets owned by, or liabilities owed by, him whether directly or indirectly (a) within three months after the coming into force of this Constitution or before taking office, as the case may be, (b) at the end of every four years; and (b) at the end of his term of office.”

The Constitution requires the declaration to be made before the public officer takes office. However, Section 1(4)(c) of the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act directs the public office holder to meet this requirement “not later than six months after taking office, at the end of every four years and not later than six months at the end of his or her term.”

Critics of the two laws, including Mrs Narteh, say reforms are needed to make the law conform to international best practice, including verification and publication.

Currently, Liberia, South Africa, Tanzania, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe are the only African countries that allow the publication of assets declared.

Supreme Court judges’ compliance

This is not the first time the justices of the Supreme Court have not  lived up to the terms of the asset declaration laws.

When he appeared before the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament in 2019 to be vetted for the position of Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah admitted that he had not declared his assets and liabilities.

Justice Anin Yeboah had been a judge at the Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2008 before he was  appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008. He also served as a High Court judge from 2002-2003.

In 2019, however, when the then Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarack, asked when he declared his assets, he said his first declaration had been at the instance of Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Woode when he was appointed to the Supreme Court in June 2008.

“Last week, I filed it at the Auditor-General’s office,” he responded.

Before admitting that he had not declared his assets on the two occasions he was promoted, he said judges were overwhelmed with work, a reason they failed to meet the requirement.

The Fourth Estate’s checks indicate that when he retired as a Chief Justice in May 2023, Justice Anin-Yeboah did not conform to the anti-graft law by December 2023. He only complied with the law in December 2024—18 months after he retired.

Justice Nene Ofoe Amegatcher, who retired in February 2023, after five years on the bench, only submitted his asset declaration forms in January 2024 — five months late.

His peer on the Supreme Court, Prof Nii Ashie Kotey, who retired in February 2023, is yet to comply — more than two years after exiting office.

Comparatively, Justice Jones Dotse, who also retired in June 2023, complied with the law within three months after his retirement. Justice Clemence Honyenuga, who left office in September 2022, filed his declaration within six months.

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