Mabel Maame Agyemang (; formerly also Yamoa) is the current Chief Justice of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

.Delana Isles
"New chief justice takes the bench"
''Turks and Caicos Weekly News'', 04 April 2020.Nigel Dakin
"Governor Dakin announces new judicial appointments"
''GOV.UK'', 20 February 2020. An expert

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

with a judicial career spanning decades, Agyemang served in the

judiciaries The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

of the governments of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

and

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

prior to her current role in the

.he Commonwealth Secretariatbr>"Helping to deliver justice in Swaziland"
, Commonwealth Secretariat She was also the first female

Chief Justice of The Gambia The chief justice of the Gambia is the head of the Gambian judiciary and is responsible for the administration and supervision of the courts. The chief justice is also the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. Judges from other Commo ...

."Editorial: Will Appointment of Ghanaian Justice Mabel Agyemang as Chief Justice bring Judicial reform in Gambia?"
Gainako, 23 July 2013.he Observerbr>"Agyemang Confirmed Chief Justice"
, ''The Daily Observer''

Early life and education

Agyemang had her secondary school education at Wesley Girls Senior High School in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

. She attended the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

and then furthered her education at the

Ghana School of Law The Ghana School of Law (GSL) is an educational institution in Ghana for training lawyers. The school is the only institution responsible for training for law graduates in the Professional Law Course (PLC) programme and the Post-Call Law Course. ...

(Professional Law Course).

Judicial career

Justice Agyemang was called to the Ghanaian

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1987 and joined the Bench shortly after. As a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

judge, she served in various judicial capacities and sat in a number of jurisdictions including

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Koforidua Koforidua, also popularly known as K.dua or Koftown and now Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region, Ghana, Eastern Region of Ghana. The city has a population of 183,727 people as of 2010. The city is a blend of colonial and moder ...

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

, and

Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most p ...

. She also served as vice-president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana from 1996 to 2000.hanaweb Gam>Bakare Muritala & Momodou Bah
"Ghanaian judges introduced in The Gambia"
''GhanaWeb'', 12 October 2004. She was elevated to the High Court in 2002.hanawebbr>"Restore confidence in the Judiciary: JAK to Judges"
''GhanaWeb'', 19 June 2002.

Commonwealth Secretariat Judge

She began working for the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...

as an expert judge in 2004, first being sent to

where she spent four years as a High Court judge.he Point Newspaperbr>"Justice Agyemang Takes Leave of The Gambia"
''The Point Newspaper'', 12 September 2008. During her four-year tenure in The Gambia, Justice Agyemang served the Land, Civil, Commercial and Criminal divisions and successfully completed about 365 files.he Point Newspaper/> In 2008, she was seconded to

where she served for two years in a similar capacity.he Commonwealth Secretariat/> Her cases in

spanned both private and public law and included cases on defamation, unlawful arrests, police brutality and electoral disputes.he Commonwealth Secretariat/> One of her notable judgments in

was her judgment on the right to free education.RIN Africabr>"SWAZILAND: Judge rules for free education"
IRIN Africa, 25 March 2009. Justice Agyemang returned to The Gambia in 2010, still with the Commonwealth Secretariat, as an expert

Appeal Court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...

judge.our new judges sworn-inbr>"Four new judges sworn-in"
, ''The Daily Observer''

Chief Justice of The Gambia

She was appointed

in August 2013.he Observer/>eaceFM News Onlinebr>"Ghanaian To Be Sworn In As The Chief Justice Of Gambia"
, ''Peace FM Online'', 31 July 2013. Her appointment was widely seen as an inspired choice as she is seen by the international community as an experienced and independent minded judge."British High Commissioner Comments on Appointment of new Chief Justice"
''The Point Newspaper'', 12 August 2013. 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.S Department of Statebr>"2014 Human Rights Reports: The Gambia"
US Department of State.ibaarobr>"Gambia's Chief Justice Removed"
''Kibaaro News'', 4 February 2014."Chief Justice Mabel Agyemang removed"
''The Point Newspaper'', 6 February 2014. It is suspected by many in the international judicial community that her dismissal was tied to differences over a human rights abuse caseommonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Associationbr>"Judicial Independence and Human Rights Issues: Gambia"
''CMJA News'' (Newsletter of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association), Vol. 35, April 2014. and her insistence on judicial independence.idi Sanneh>Sidi Sanneh
"One More Victim of a Patently Vindictive Dictator"
8 March 2014.

Back to Ghana (Court of Appeal)

Upon returning to her native

, Justice Agyemang was sworn in as a Justice of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

.aily Graphicbr>"President Mahama swears in five Court of Appeal judges"
''Daily Graphic'', 8 January 2015. In October 2015, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a new judicial complex in Accra, Ghanaian President

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who has been the 14th president of Ghana since January 2025. A member of the National Democratic Congress (Ghana), National Democratic Congress (NDC), he served as the 12th p ...

cited Justice Agyemang as an example of highly respected judges within the Ghanaian judiciary.hana Business Newsbr>"Avoid tagging entire judiciary as corrupt – Mahama"
''Ghana Business News'', 9 October 2015.

Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands

In February 2020, Nigel Dakin,

Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands The governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British gov ...

, announced the appointment of Justice Agyemang as Chief Justice of the

. In his announcement speech, Governor Dakin noted of Agyemang's sudden departure from The Gambia in 2014: 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: Justice Agyemang was sworn in as Chief Justice of the

on March 30, 2020, and took office on April 1, 2020.

Personal life

Justice Agyemang is a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and is married with two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agyemang, Mabel Maame Living people 20th-century Ghanaian judges Ghanaian judges on the courts of the Gambia University of Ghana alumni Ghana School of Law alumni People educated at Wesley Girls' Senior High School Year of birth missing (living people) Ghanaian judges on the courts of Eswatini Chief justices of the Gambia Chief justices of the Turks and Caicos Islands Ghanaian women judges Women chief justices 21st-century Ghanaian judges 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges First women chief justices