Draft:A.C. Kuma

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Alexander Cuthbert Kuma was a Ghanaian lawyer, law professor, and philanthropist. He was a close confidant of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

Early life and education[edit]

Alexander Cuthbert Kuma was born on February 24, 1927, at Kpeve in the Volta Region of Ghana to Thomas Kuma (De Gaulle) from the Nyargbogborme Clan, who was a police officer and the Chief Linguist of the Leklebi Traditional Area, and Kate Abra Akanga from the royal houses of Kpeve and Todome, who was known for her business acumen. He started his primary education at Kpeve, continuing from primary three to six at Leklebi. After completing secondary school, he entered Akropong Teacher Training College (now Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong), and later taught at Worawora Senior School in Volta-Akan.

In 1952 he was admitted to Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, and later studied at the University of Oxford (Oriel College) in England, where he earned a double honours degree in philosophy and legal science. He was subsequently awarded a M.A. and an LLB. from Dublin and a M.A. from Oxford (Vieta 1999). He was a Senior Research Student in Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford and was called to the Bar at the King's Inn in 1956. He was awarded the Wray Prize in philosophy in 1955; George McCutchan Prize in philosophy, Trinity College Dublin, and passed his Final Examinations on the Philosophy of Hegel in 1956 with the Senior Victor Prize, at the King's Inn Bar Final Examination in 1956.

Academic and legal career[edit]

He returned to Ghana in 1959 to take up a position as Lecturer in Jurisprudence at the Law Faculty, University of Ghana, Legon, where he was a pioneering member of the faculty and rose to become Presidential Professor of Law.[1] Among his students and mentees were the former president of Ghana, John Atta Mills, the current president, Nana Akufo-Addo, and the former Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo.

Whilst a lecturer at Legon, he formed the Law Chambers with Mr. Narayan from Trinidad, Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy (later Attorney General), Fred Segbefia, Isaac Amissah-Aidoo (Deputy Speaker of Parliament), G.D. Ameyaw and Mr. Ofori–Attah. They were later briefly joined by Agyeman-Bempah and Doris Ocansey. The juniors in the chambers were J.K. Agyeman and Sam Okudjeto. In 1970 the Law Chambers was dissolved and Agyeman and Okudjeto were left behind.

While at Legon, Kuma also became a member of Kwame Nkrumah's Think Tank.[2] The group was disbanded by the military coup of 24 February 1966. All the government ministers in the group were arrested and confined at Ussher Fort. Kuma sent Sam Okudjeto to the UK to become a Queen's Counsel in order to assist in the defence of the accused ministers and challenge the Jiagge Commission, and he and others brought in British politician Geoffrey Rippon to challenge the constitutionality of the arrest of the ministers.

Kuma represented Ghana at the United Nations as a plenipotentiary ambassador (Adamafio 1982). He was also a member of the Law Reform Committee and Concessions Tribunal, the Representative of Ghana on the 6th Committee of the UN, a member of Ghana's delegation to the 1999 Afro-Asian Conference. He was also a member of the Ghana Bar Association and the General Legal Council. He delivered public lectures on “Democracy and a New Outlook on International Law” at the University of Ghana, Legon (Harvey 1966). He was a legal advisor to the E.P. Church.

Business and philanthropic work[edit]

He was a former Director of the Bank of Ghana and Board Member of IRANI Brothers Ltd., Danafco/Dannnex Ltd, British India / Zenith Insurance Company and Nyaho Medical Centre. He was Vice-Chairman of Volta Lines Ltd (with A.R. Boakye of Black Star Line and Mr. Puplampu) and together they also established WACCON Lines and TSOBI Chemicals Ltd. (Vieta 1999).

Kuma was the sole proprietor of Ameyi Farms, Ameyi Fisheries, Ameyi Agencies, Ameyi Cold Stores Ltd and Ameyi Chambers, where he worked until old age.

In 1967 he paid for the establishment of Leklebi Senior High School; he paid the salaries of the teachers for eleven years, and in partnership with the Indian High Commission, built a modern science laboratory for the school (Vieta 1999). In addition, since the electricity supply to the Volta Region was inadequate at the time, he ran his personal generator every evening to provide light for students to study. He paid school and university fees for many relatives and non-relatives.

He passed away on October 15, 2012 at the Nyaho Medical Centre in Accra, Ghana. He was 85 years old.

Published works[edit]

  • Democracy and a New Outlook on International Law: A Public Lecture Delivered at the Commonwealth Hall Lecture Theatre, University of Ghana, Legon, on Friday, the 25th of May 1962.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Harvey, p. 376.
  2. ^ Adamafio, p. 46.

References[edit]

  • The Legon Law Journal
  • Tawia Adamafio, By Nkrumah's Side: The Labour and the Wounds, Accra: Westcoast, 1982, ISBN 9780860361763
  • William Burnett Harvey, Law and Social Change in Ghana, 1966, repr. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2015, ISBN 9780691624204
  • Kojo T. Vieta, The Flagbearers of Ghana: Profiles of One Hundred Distinguished Ghanaians, Volume 1, Accra: Ena, 1999, ISBN 9789988001384


Category:Ghanaian lawyers Category:1927 births Category:Year of death unknown Category:Academic staff of the University of Ghana Category:People from Volta Region

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