Emmanuel Owuraku Amofah (born 8 February 1956; sometimes written as Amofa) is a Ghanaian politician and lawyer from Kibi who served as a member of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...

for Abuakwa Central constituency from 1992 to 1996. He is a former deputy communication minister and deputy tourism minister. In 1992, he founded the

Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere The Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) is an inactive political party in terms of elections in Ghana. It has not contested any elections since the 2004 Ghanaian general election. According to Ghanaian law, political parties must have a pres ...

(EGLE) party. As a lawyer, he has worked in

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as the CEO of Parking Ticket Busters, a ticket-broker business, as an attorney at Amofah Law Firm and as a one-time administrative law judge at the city's Parking Violations Bureau. Amofah studied law in America and was involved in Ghana's politics, serving as a Deputy of Tourism under President

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

. In 2000, he had an argument with Rawlings over failing to choose

Obed Asamoah Obed Yao Asamoah (born 6 February 1936) is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. Asamoah was the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at King's Coll ...

as a running mate. Asamoah was rumored to have taken money from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) so that Amofah could have a position in the government. During the confrontation, Amofah allegedly slammed the door on Rawlings' fingers, injuring him. As a result, Amofah went into a self-imposed exile in the US, where he became a Magistrate Judge in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

. His membership in EGLE lapsed while he was out of the country shortly after. Amofah would later join the NDC in 2002 before leaving the party in 2008. In 2013, he returned to Ghana as a member of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

, where he supported his uncle

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

for a position in the government. However, when Akufo-Addo was running for president, he later changed his stance and claimed that Akufo-Addo would "be the worst President for Ghana." Amofah rejoined the NDC in 2014 and was supporting John Mahama's bid for presidency in the

2016 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by Parliament. Former foreign minister Nana Akufo-Ad ...

Children

Amofah is the father of multiple children, including sons Randy and Desmond Amofah, who died in 2010 and 2019, respectively. Randy died on 31 October 2010 from an asthma attack. Desmond was an American

YouTube personality A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influen ...

and

online streamer An online streamer or live streamer is a person who broadcasts themselves online through a live stream to an audience. History Streaming arose in the early 2010s, originating on sites like YouTube where users could upload videos of themselves i ...

who was better known by his online alias "Etika". On 20 June 2019, Desmond was reported missing by the

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, and his body was found in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

on the evening of 24 June. After identification of his body, he was publicly pronounced dead on the morning of 25 June. On 26 June, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Desmond's death was drowning, and the manner was suicide.

Education

He attended

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

where he obtained his

bachelor of laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree before proceeding to Ghana Law school to become a barrister. He then relocated abroad to pursue his dreams and attended

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

before practicing Law in the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amofa, Owuraku 1956 births Living people 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century Ghanaian lawyers 21st-century Ghanaian politicians Ghanaian emigrants to the United States Ghanaian MPs 1993–1997 People from Eastern Region (Ghana)