Just two months before her final professional exams, Karen Yartey was struck by a severe illness that left her blind, deaf, and paralysed. Against extraordinary odds, she recovered, completed her legal training, and was called to the Bar on Friday, 9 October 2026, at the General Legal Council’s 63rd ceremony in Accra.
Now, sharing the ordeal that nearly derailed her legal ambitions, Yartey has moved Ghanaians with a powerful account of her journey to becoming a lawyer. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she reflected on the dramatic turn her life took just weeks before her final exams.
She posted photos detailing her journey, including one showing her lying on a hospital stretcher while receiving medical attention and another showing her with an intravenous drip fixed to her hand, alongside a deeply moving reflection:
“I am Karen Yartey Esq. I started this journey as healthy as I could be, but just 2 months before I wrote my final exam, I became blind, deaf and paralyzed. Yesterday I got called to the bar.”
The post instantly struck a chord online, drawing an outpouring of congratulatory messages and emotional reactions from Ghanaians. When one well-wisher, Jerome (@readJerome), remarked that it was the kind of journey one had to witness firsthand to truly believe, Yartey confessed that even looking back at it herself feels surreal.
“Even me that I witnessed I still find it hard to believe I was able to do all that,” she responded.
A Record-Breaking Year for the Ghana Bar
Yartey’s personal triumph unfolded against the backdrop of a major milestone for Ghana’s legal community. The General Legal Council’s 63rd ceremony saw a record-high number of inductees sworn in as Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court, with 1,568 newly qualified lawyers compared to the 824 admitted in 2025.
This year’s cohort also featured several notable public figures, media personalities, and professionals who balanced demanding careers to complete their legal training. They included:
- Sam Nartey George: Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and Minister for Communications.
- Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah: Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
- Naa Ashorkor: Popular media personality, presenter, and actress.
- Umaru Sanda Amadu: Renowned broadcast journalist.
- Elisabeth Addai: A practising Ghanaian nurse who earned widespread public admiration for completing dual professional qualifications in healthcare and law.
For Yartey and her fellow inductees, the ceremony marked the end of years of demanding legal education and, for Yartey specifically, a powerful testament to her resilience in the face of extraordinary adversity.
