Stories and facts

Vincent Cyril Richard Arthur Charles Crabbe was a prominent Ghanaian jurist, public servant, and legal scholar.

He served twice as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, from 1970 to 1972 and again from 1980 to 1981.

Prior to his judicial appointments, Crabbe was a legislative draftsman in the Attorney-General’s Department and played a key role in drafting the laws that accompanied Ghana’s independence.

He was Ghana’s first interim electoral commissioner and established the country’s first permanent electoral commission, overseeing the 1969 elections.

Crabbe also chaired the Constituent Assembly that produced the 1979 Constitution and contributed to constitutional reforms in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and South Africa.

Appointed Commissioner for Statute Law Revision in 1999, he revised Ghana’s laws from 1852 to 2004.

A respected educator, he taught law in Ghana, Barbados, and at international institutions, serving as a professor at Mountcrest University College until his death.

Crabbe was a father of six and a Freemason. Though he never received the national honor of Companion of the Order of the Volta, he was widely recognized with other awards, including an honorary doctorate from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

He passed away on 7 September 2018 at the age of 94.

A state funeral was held in his honour, celebrating his contributions to law and governance in Ghana and beyond.

Explore the life and legacy of Vincent Cyril Richard Arthur Charles Crabbe below.