
Dr Sylvia Ama Adusu, a Chief State Attorney of Ghana, has been elected as a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ITLOS, making her the first African woman to hold this position. She secured 130 out of 169 votes during the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS on June 18, 2026, at the UN Headquarters in New York. Dr Adusu, who was also the Head of International Law in Ghana's Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, was nominated by Ghana with the backing of the African Union. She brings over 30 years of legal experience, including international law, civil litigation, criminal prosecution, and arbitration. Her academic background includes a PhD in International Law from Lancaster University. Dr Adusu has represented Ghana in various international forums, including the International Court of Justice, and played a key role in Ghana’s maritime boundary dispute case against Côte d’Ivoire at ITLOS. She also contributes to legal education as a part-time lecturer at the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law. Her work has been nationally recognized, including the Companion of the Order of the Volta. As an ITLOS judge, she is expected to contribute to peaceful dispute resolution, maritime governance, and marine resource protection.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by GhanaWeb.
Must ReadBernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party NPP, has requested a plea bargain in his ongoing criminal trial related to the Exim Bank fraud case. The court has granted this request, giving the state and Wontumi until July 18, 2026, to reach an agreement. Wontumi, along with Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited, faces four charges: defrauding by false pretence, uttering a forged document, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public institution. The charges stem from allegations that in 2018, they obtained GH₵14.3 million from Exim Bank for a large-scale farming project, but no farming activities were undertaken, no machinery was purchased, and a document presented as proof of purchase was allegedly forged. If the plea bargain fails and Wontumi is found guilty, he could face a maximum of 10 years imprisonment if sentences run concurrently, or up to 40 years if they run consecutively, as each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years.

The Environmental Protection Agency EPA in Tarkwa has called on traditional leaders to utilize their cultural and spiritual authority to combat illegal mining, known as galamsey, in Ghana. Mr. Derick Ashia Logo, the Regional Director of the EPA in Tarkwa, stated that illegal miners are increasingly fortified and pose security risks to enforcement officers. He suggested that chiefs, as custodians of the land, could invoke cultural beliefs, taboos, and customary sanctions to deter illegal mining activities, thereby complementing government efforts. Mr. Logo also advocated for government financial support for community-based environmental protection initiatives and stricter accountability for traditional leaders who fail to protect natural resources under their jurisdiction. The EPA emphasizes that illegal mining remains a significant environmental challenge, causing destruction to rivers, forests, and farmlands, and creating security concerns for anti-galamsey operations.
Must ReadKwabena Amaning, known as Tagor, and Alhaji Issah Abass, who were sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007 for drug-related offenses, have been acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal. The two businessmen were at the center of a controversial case involving the disappearance of 76 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel. The Court of Appeal's three-member panel, chaired by Mr Justice Peasare, ordered their immediate release after they had spent a year and seven months in prison. The court found that the charges against them were defective and the prosecution failed to establish the offenses. It noted that the prosecution could not specify the location or date of the alleged crimes, creating gaps in the evidence. The Court of Appeal also criticized the trial judge for overruling a submission of no case and questioned why the prosecution did not call Assistant Commissioner of Police Kofi Boakye as a witness. Furthermore, the court stated that the whereabouts of the 76 parcels of cocaine remained a mystery, and a recorded conversation between Tagor, Abass, and Kofi Boakye was a private attempt by Boakye to clear his name, not a confession. The court dismissed the prosecution's claims regarding conspiracy and the alleged sale of cocaine, stating that such transactions were not proven and that local jargon for drugs could not be legally supported.