Joseph Bawa Akamba was a Ghanaian judge and one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He was sworn into office by the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama in the presence of the Chief Justice of Ghana, Georgina Theodora Wood in November 2012.

He retired from the Supreme Court in 2016. He had served a total of about 40 years in the Ghanaian Judicial Service. In 1994, he also served as Director of Public Prosecutions in The Gambia.

Akamba held various positions throughout his judicial career, some of which include; serving as the Chairman of the Committee of Inquiry into the Tamale Riots in 1993, Chairing the Committee of Inquiry into affairs of the Ghana School of Law in 2006, and also serving as the President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana in 2007.

Akamba was born in Kumasi on 6 June 1946. He obtained an 'A' Level Certificate from Ghana Senior High School, Tamale, then Ghana College. He proceeded to the University of Ghana to pursue a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB), graduating in 1972.

He studied at the Ghana School of Law after his undergraduate studies and obtained his Barrister-at-law certificate (BL) in 1974. He also holds a certificate in Advanced Leadership from the Haggai Institute of Advanced Leadership which he received on 13 May 1999.

From 1965 to 1969 Akamba taught at Tamale Business School He also worked as an Assistant State Attorney at the Attorney-General's Office prior to joining the Judiciary as a District Magistrate. He served as a District Magistrate from 1977 until 1984 when he was promoted to Circuit Court judge.

He was promoted in 1989 to the High Court bench till 1994 when he gained an appointment at the Gambia to work as a Director of Public Prosecutions from 1994 to 1999. He was also appointed in 1989 as Justice of The Gambia Court of Appeal.

Akamba returned to Ghana in 2001 taking up an appointment as Justice of the Court of Appeal. While serving, he doubled as the acting Director for the Judicial Training School from 2008 to 2011.

On November 11, 2012, he was sworn into office as a justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He retired in 2016.

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