One of the justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Yonny Kulendi, has explained that he feels orphaned at the Bench.

This is because, he added, his fatherly figure on the Bench, Jones Dotse, has retired, leaving him behind.

Addressing a gathering at the Supreme Court during a valedictory ceremony for Justice Jones Dotse, as he retires, Yonny Kulendi said that he is hopeful that the retiring judge would leave him in the hands of another who would relate with him just as he was.

He also stressed how, for him, he prayed and wished a day like this – where he would bid farewell to Justice Dotse at the Bench, would come.

“I have told him that I have prayed away this day. I never wished that this day was going to come. I don’t know what his plans are, and who he will entrust me to, otherwise, I feel really orphaned on this side of the court.

“And the reason also is that, those of you who know me, I’m not a hawk, but I’m very stubborn in my views, and My Lord Justice Dotse is one of the few, exceptional and extraordinary people who has a very unique way of saying – and it’s not pretentious, it’s just genuine, he tells you ‘yes,’ but if you’re discerning, the ‘yes’ can be a ‘no.’

“And so, I’ll miss your guidance,” he said.

Earlier, Justice Yonny Kulendi said that it was the instruction of Jones Dotse that saw him make a major decision in his life recently.

Prefixing his reference to that story by saying that there is the need for everyone to have someone of great influence in their lives, he said that it took the ‘command’ of the retired judge to get him to accept the appointment to be a Supreme Court judge.

“You must each find in your life and space, a man or woman who can command you on major decisions of your life. For those who have been wondering, and still wondering why I left, by the grace of God, a reasonably-thriving life at the Bar, and took what I call an oath of poverty and service, that reason is My Lord Justice Dotse.

“He commanded me and I do not have an iota of regret that I obeyed. My Lord, thank you for commanding me, and today, in private conversations, I still address him as ‘Papa,’ but he addresses me, since I became a judge, as my brother,” he said.

Justice Jones Dotse retires from the Supreme Court after serving on it since June 2008.

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