COURT PRESIDENT PAYS TRIBUTE TO STAFF WHO DIED ON NEW YEAR DAY

The President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, has paid glowing tribute to a staff of the Court’s language division, Mr Olivier Francois-Xavier Ahogny, who died on 1^st of January 2023 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire after a brief illness and was buried on 19^th January 2023.

In the tribute, the President described Mr. Olivier as a man of many parts, who displayed exemplary commitment to his job around which his life revolved, regardless of the circumstance, challenge or inconvenience.

“For the 17 odd years that he worked in the language division of the Court as an interpreter, I am reliably informed that he demonstrated uncommon commitment to his job, an assertion I can attest to since joining the Court about four years ago,’ Justice Asante said in the tribute read at the funeral by the Court’s Vice President, Justice Gberi be-Ouattara.

‘ Whether as a colleague, friend of staff, Olivier was a man of many parts,’ the President said, recalling with nostalgia, his fondness for the Tenue Akan, a dress associated with the Akan’s of his country, Cote d’Ivoire and neighbouring Ghana which he wore on Fridays.

The President characterized the tribute ceremony organized by the Court for the late Mr. Ahogny after the burial as an acknowledgement of his ‘contribution to the  Court; his unalloyed commitment to his job and contribution to its success achieved through his extraordinary dedication to his job.’

While commending the staff for manifesting their tribute in various ways, the President noted that the greatest tribute to his memory ‘is to rededicate themselves to those values he exemplified such as the pursuit of excellence and the single-minded commitment to his job despite the odds.’

“ It is only through internalizing these values that we can permanently honour his memory and contribute to making the Court more effective in the discharge of its mandate,’ describing the timing of his death as inauspicious, coming at a time when the Court is struggling to cope with dearth of staff in its language services unit.

The President also alluded to Olivier’s special bond with the women of the court to whom he sent individual flowers to mark the Valentine’s Day or during their birthdays, and commended the women for sending a delegation to the funeral as evidence of this relationship.