Ghanaian Supreme Court Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi and his wife, Emefa Hodo-Kulendi, visited the University of Mississippi on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Justice Kulendi spoke to students about the international perspectives of lawyers, rules of law and challenges facing democracy around the world.
The couple toured the campus, held a Q&A luncheon and spoke to a class in the Croft Institute for International Studies. Kulendi’s visit to Mississippi extends beyond the university, as he will also observe sentencing and motion hearings at the U.S. District Court in Oxford.
Born in Issa, Ghana, Kulendi was nominated and appointed in 2020 to serve on the Supreme Court of Ghana. Kulendi earned his Bachelor of Law from the University of Ghana in 1992 and later completed his studies in 1994 at the Ghana School of Law.
“My becoming a lawyer was the product of destiny and God,” Kulendi said. “Growing up, I had never seen a lawyer before, but somehow the idea came into my head. In high school, Emefa (Hodo-Kulendi) stole my heart, so we stuck together. She ended up in the (United Kingdom), so I went to London, too. I paid my way through school doing every odd job on the streets of London that you can think of.”
Later in life, Kulendi founded his own law firm, Kulendi@Law, in July 2002, and worked as a managing partner until he was appointed to the Supreme Court bench. Since starting his career, Kulendi’s goal has been to practice law in accordance with justice and morality.
“Because of my upbringing, I don’t discuss money or bills,” Kulendi said. “I just do the work. Generally, people see lawyers as money-minded people. They take advantage of clients and people who are in trouble. So, not to fall into that profile makes you stand out.”
Keagan Rupp, a sophomore international studies and Arabic double major from Cottleville, Mo., attended the luncheon with Kulendi. During the lunch, Kulendi described his current battle against corruption, which inspired Rupp.
“Justice Kulendi said he’s worried that Ghanaian government officials are letting the education system start to go down, because the social inequality is benefitting them,” Rupp said. “His visit really solidified my goal of helping people that were given fewer advantages in life, because I think everyone deserves to be given the same opportunities.”
Keerthin Karthikeyan, a senior public policy leadership, international studies and French triple major from Oxford, is one of the Ole Miss student ambassadors who gave Kulendi and his wife a tour of campus.
“This was one of my first tours with someone so influential, someone who makes decisions every day that affect their country,” Karthikeyan said. “He asked a lot of questions, and he treated the tour like a student would: wanting to know what this building was, the academics of the institution, where you’d go to get a coffee, things like that.”
Mary Adeline Morris, a junior international studies and Spanish double major from Nashville, serves as co-president of the Croft Senate. She appreciated the opportunities that visits from distinguished guests give to students.
“Being able to hear about what we’re learning in class from a (Ghanaian) Supreme Court Justice is such a great opportunity,” Morris said. “(The Croft Institute) always finds such interesting people to come and give students the opportunity to ask questions.”
Justice Kulendi closed his talk with words of encouragement.
“Invest in your learning,” Kulendi said. “Give it your best shot, because you are creating the foundation for your future.”
