B.J. Da Rocha was a prominent lawyer, politician, and founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana. He was born on May 16, 1927 in Cape Coast, where he attended Adisadel College for his secondary education. He later studied law at the University of London and was called to the bar in England and Wales in 1955.He returned to Ghana and became the first Ghanaian director of the Ghana School of Law in 1958.

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He lectured at the school for almost two decades before retiring in 1992 as the first Ghanaian director of legal education. He also served as the general secretary of the Progress Party, led by Kofi Abrefa Busia, who became the prime minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972.

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He was also one of the founding members and the first national chairman of the NPP, which was formed in 1992 as a successor to the Progress Party and other pro-democracy movements that opposed military rule in Ghana. He played a key role in shaping the party’s ideology, vision, and policies. He was known for his outspokenness, integrity, and dedication to the party and the nation.

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He died on February 23, 2010, at the age of 82, after a long illness. He was honored by the Ghana Bar Association for his contribution to the legal profession in 1993.In 2012, a book titled “B.J. Da Rocha: A Life of Integrity” was launched by President John Atta Mills to commemorate his life and legacy. In 2017, Mountcrest University College in Ghana instituted a lecture and a chair in law and politics in his memory and honor.

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He became relevant following conversations around Alan Kyerematen and him back in 2005. Alan Kyerematen was one of the presidential aspirants of the NPP who contested against Nana Akufo-Addo, who eventually won the party’s nomination. In 2008, B.J. Da Rocha wrote a letter criticizing his choice of Hajia Alima Mahama as his running mate and accusing him of being influenced by tribalism and nepotism.

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 He also described Alan Kyerematen as a “disruptive factor” who should be expelled from the party for resigning after losing the primaries.

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