Owuraku Amofah

Emmanuel Owuraku Amofah (born 8 February 1956; often referred to as simply Owuraku Amofah, surname sometimes written as Amofa) is a Ghanaian politician and lawyer from Kibi who served as a member of the Parliament of Ghana 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 (EGLE) party. As a lawyer, he has worked in New York City 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.[1] In 2017, Amofah was reported to have illegally altered documents in his various parking ticket cases by utilising knowledge from his former judge position, cheating the city out of over $100,000 in fines.[2]

Owuraku Amofah
Member of Parliament
for Abuakwa Central
In office
1992–1996
PresidentJerry Rawlings
Personal details
Born
Emmanuel Owuraku Amofah

(1956-02-08) 8 February 1956
Kibi, Ghana
Political partyNDC (2002–2008, since 2014)
Other political
affiliations		EGLE (until 2000)
NPP (2008–2014)
ChildrenSeveral, including Randy and Desmond Amofah (sons; both deceased)
ProfessionLawyer

Amofah studied law in America and was involved in Ghana's politics, serving as a Deputy of Tourism under President Jerry Rawlings. In 2000, he had an argument with Rawlings over failing to choose Obed Asamoah 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.[3] 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, where he supported his uncle Nana Akufo-Addo 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."[4] Amofah rejoined the NDC in 2014 and was supporting John Mahama's bid for presidency in the 2016 Ghanaian general election.[5]

Children

Amofah is the father of multiple children, including two sons who are deceased, Randy and Desmond Amofah. Desmond was an American YouTube personality and online streamer who was better known by his online alias Etika.[6] On 20 June 2019, Desmond was reported missing by the New York City Police Department, and his body was found in the East River on the evening of 24 June.[7] After identification of his body, he was publicly pronounced dead on the morning of 25 June.[8][9] On 26 June, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Desmond's death was drowning, and the manner was suicide.[10][11][12] Randy Amofah died on 31 October 2010 from an asthma attack.[13]

Education

He attended University of Ghana where he obtained his bachelor of laws degree before proceeding to Ghana Law school to become a barrister. He then relocated abroad to pursue his dreams and attended Brooklyn Law School before practicing Law in the country.

References
  1. Starrfmonline.com (8 June 2016). "I don't regret supporting Nana Addo – Owuraku Amofa". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. Jaeger, Max (19 December 2017). "Ex-judge used knowledge of ticket system to cheat city out of $100K in fines". New York Post. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. Ruha, Genevieve (16 September 2013). "Owuraku Amofa". GhanaNation.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. peacefmonline.com (22 November 2016). "Akufo-Addo destroyed his family's good work - Owuraku Amofa". ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  5. "I don't regret supporting Nana Addo – Owuraku Amofa". ghanaweb.com. GhanaWeb. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  6. "Former Dept minister's son, Desmond Amofah, found dead in Manhattan". Graphic Online. 26 June 2019.
  7. "Etika: Body found in search is missing YouTuber". BBC News Online. BBC Online. BBC. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  8. "Missing YouTube star 'Etika' found dead". WNYW. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  9. NYPD News [@NYPDNews] (25 June 2019). "We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 June 2019 – via Twitter.
  10. Alanne Orjoux. "YouTuber Etika died by suicide, medical examiner says". CNN. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  11. "Etika: Body found in search is missing YouTuber". BBC News. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  12. Jacobo, Julia (26 June 2019). "YouTube gaming personality Desmond 'Etika' Amofah's died by suicide, officials say". ABC News. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  13. Bicks, Emily (25 June 2019). "Etika's Older Brother Randy Amofah Died in 2010". Heavy.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
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