Joseph Emmanuel "Joe" Appiah, MP was a Ghanaian lawyer, politician and statesman.
Background
He was born in Kumasi to Nana James Appiah and Nana Adwoa Akyaa, members of the Ashanti imperial aristocracy. His father was a schoolmaster, Methodist leader, traditional nobleman and, finally, Chief Secretary of Asanteman, a position his son would also subsequently occupy.
Education
Appiah was educated at Wesley College, Mfantsipim, and the Middle Temple.
Career
He became a trainee manager in the United Africa Company before leaving in 1943 to read law in Britain. There, Kwame Nkrumah used to come to his rooms in Hampstead to take a bath and share his food. He became the British representative of the Convention People’s Party, attending the famous 5th Pan Africanist Conference at Manchester in 1946, and travelling the Pan Africanist circles in Europe.
His fearless and outspoken criticism led to his detention from October 1971 until December 22, 1962. Unable to continue his political career he returned to private practice, defending many famous opposition leaders, including relatives of the exiled Dr Busia, in court.
When the soldiers took over in January 1966 he was sent on a mission to African countries to explain the reasons for the coup and was appointed to the new government's political committee on July 1, 1966.
But lacking faith in Dr Busia's qualities of leadership or his power to curb his followers’ excesses and financial corruption he broke with his °ld Ashanti colleague and led his own party into the elections which heralded Ghana's return to civilian rule.
He lost his scat fighting the constituency that he had held under Nkrumah, coming third in the poll and seeing 83 votes of 85 of his Nationalist party candidates defeated. His only successes came m the Ga areas of Greater Accra. Later, m October 1969, all opposition groups came together in the new Justice Party and he was chosen to lead it from outside Parliament. He returned to his Private practice and his six bedroomed house at Kumasi, surrounded by tropical flame trees.
He was appointed Ghana's roving Ambassador in Europe tom March and is now used on special missions which cannot be easily handled through normal diplomatic channels. He works in the Castle, where Colonel Acheampong has his administration. The new government sees him as their unofficial “conscience”. One day Colonel Acheampong met him in the Castle corridors and said “Ah, Joe, so you are still with us, that is a sign that we must be doing all right"!
Politics
He joined the CPP’s fight in Ashanti, but as Nkrumah would not heed his warnings about corruption starting among many CPP leaders, he broke away to join the newly formed National Liberation Movement. He was returned in July 1956 as NLM member for Atwima-Amansie, in Ashanti, joining the United Party in 1957 when it absorbed the NLM, becoming an opposition leader in Parliament.
Connections
In July 1953 he married Peggy Cripps, daughter of Sir Stafford Cripps, the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, soon to start a big and