Former Chief Justice of The Gambia, Emmanuel Fagbenle, has earned the Kwame Nkrumah Outstanding Merit Award for his role in decolonization and entrenchment of democracy in Africa.
The award was instituted in honor of former President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who was a proponent of African unity and Pan Africanism.
Fagbenle, in 2016 presided over The Gambia’s presidential election petition. He maintained neutrality and declined to upturn petition instituted against President Yahya Jammeh.
Dr Felix Okonkwo the Coordinator of Kwame Nkrumah Vision Alive Movement, said: “During the heated political impasse in The Gambia, Fagbenle discouraged any unconstitutional political solution, including interim governments, because of his staunch belief in democratic process, especially in a nascent democracy like Gambia.”
In 2009, he was appointed a High Court Judge of The Gambia, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2012.
He became President of the Court of Appeal in 2014 and in 2026, appointed Chief Justice of The Gambia.
