Kofi Adumua Bossman

Kofi Adumoah Bossman was a Ghanaian barrister,[1] a jurist[2] and a politician. He was a prominent legal practitioner based in Accra in the 1940s and 1950s[3][4] prior to being called to the bench. He was a Supreme Court Judge during the first republic.[5] He was dismissed in 1964.[6] In 1966 he was appointed as a member of the constitutional commission during the National Liberation Council (NLC) regime.[3]

Kofi Adumoah Bossman
Supreme Court Judge
In office
1964–1966
Nominated byDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Personal details
Born27 March 1907
Prampram, Gold Coast
Died1967(1967-00-00) (aged 59–60)
NationalityGhanaian
Alma materUniversity of London
OccupationJurist

Early life and education

Bossman was born on 27 March 1907 at Prampram, Greater Accra Region, Ghana (then Gold Coast).[7]

He begun schooling at Wesleyan Infant Junior School in Prampram. He continued at Wesleyan Boys' School in Accra from 1913 to1916 and St. Edmundsbury East Anglican School in Suffolk, England, from 1920 to 1923.[7] He had his tertiary education at King's College, University of London from 1924 to 1928 where he was admitted as Edward Kofi Bossman.[8][9] He enrolled as a student of Lincoln's inn in 1924 and was called to the degree of "utter barrister" in 1928.[7]

Career

Upon his return to the Gold Coast, he begun private legal practice in Accra at Kojo Thompson's chambers.[10] In 1929 he was a founding member of the Gold Coast Youth Conference and served as the first secretary of the group.[11][12]

He was a member of the Coussey Committee on constitutional reform from 1948 to 1949.[13]

He once served as a general secretary of the Gold Coast Bar Association and in July 1955, he represented the association at the Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference in London.[7]

On 2 July 1956 he was called the bench as a high court judge straight from the bar,[14][15][16][17] and in 1962 he became a Supreme Court Judge.[18]

In January 1964 the then president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah held a referendum that gave him power to dismiss Supreme Court Judges and High Court Judges.[19] On 2 March 1964, he together with Edward Akufo-Addo and Robert Samuel Blay were dismissed and their appointments revoked by the then president Kwame Nkrumah.[20][21] In 1966 he was appointed member of the constitutional commission. He died in 1967 while still a member of the commission.[3]

While a private legal practitioner, Bossman went into politics. He was a member of the Mambii Party. On 25 February 1942 he contested a seat during the town council elections and won.[22] He was later a member and general secretary of the National Democratic Party. He contested for a seat in Accra in the 1951 elections but lost.[23] The party was later merged with the United Gold Coast Convention to form the Congress Party in 1952.[24]

Personal life

He married Ms. Motilewa Akiwumi on December 1930.[7] He is the father of W. A. N. Bossman.[25]

See also

References
  1. "Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Volume 7". Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria. Historical Society of Nigeria: 636. 1973.
  2. Warren, Guy (1962). I Have a Story to Tell. Guinea Press. p. 45.
  3. Austin, Dennis; Luckham, Robin (1975). Politicians and Soldiers in Ghana 1966-1972. p. 81. ISBN 9781317792239.
  4. "The Socialist Leader:The Weekly Paper of the Independent Labour Party, Volume 45". The Socialist Leader:The Weekly Paper of the Independent Labour Party. New Leader Limited. 1953.
  5. "Ghana Year Book". Graphic Corporation. 1966: 237. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "West Africa, Issues 3725-3749". Afrimedia International. 1989: 404. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Ghana Year Book". Graphic Corporation. 1960: 166. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "The Law Journal, Volume 65". London: E.B. Ince. 1928: 545. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "The Law Times, Volume 165". London: Office of The Law Times. 1928: 164. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Ghana. Commission Appointed to Enquire into the Conditions Prevailing in the Ghana Prisons Service (Report). Ministry of Information. 1968. p. 568.
  11. Atiemo, Anim-Danso (2004). Basic Facts about Government for West African Senior Secondary Schools, Volume 3. Yop Printing Press. p. 217. ISBN 9789988013691.
  12. Boakie, George (1966). The Foundations of Self-Government: Selected historic speeches on Ghana's independence. George Boakie Publishing Company. p. 43.
  13. Austin, Dennis; Luckham, Robin (1975). Politicians and Soldiers in Ghana 1966–1972. p. 65. ISBN 9781317792239.
  14. Danquah, J. B. (1972). Journey to Independence and After (J.B. Danquah's Letters) 1947–1965: 1952–1957. Waterville Publishing House. p. 102.
  15. Amissah, A. N. E (1981). The contribution of the courts to government:a West African view. Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198253563.
  16. "West Africa Annual, Volume 2". James Clarke. 1964: 70. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Ofosu-Appiah, L. H. (1974). The Life and Times of Dr. J. B. Danquah. Waterville Publishing House. p. 138.
  18. "The Commonwealth Relations Office List, Volume 10". H.M. Stationery Office. 1964: 263. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. "Time & Tide, Volume 45". Time and Tide Publishing Company. 1964: 8. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. Rajasooria, J. P. (1972). Ghana & Nkrumah. p. 105. ISBN 9780871961914.
  21. "Africa Report, Volume 9". African-American Institute. 1964: 47. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. "Universitas, Volume 10". University of Ghana. 1988: 161. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. Botwe-Asamoah, Kwame (17 June 2013). Kwame Nkrumah's Politico-Cultural Thought and Politics:An African-Centered Paradigm for the Second Phase of the African Revolution. Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 9781134000180.
  24. "The Conch, Volume 6-9". Conch Magazine Limited. 1974: 122. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. The Moment,"Prampram Land Saga.. How It All Begun", Ghanaweb, 24 September 2012.
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