Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Dr. Acheampong described the GBA’s position as inconsistent and politically tinged, especially when contrasted with its earlier, more measured press release issued just a week prior.

His comments follow the GBA’s call for President Mahama to revoke the suspension of the Chief Justice.

Dr. Acheampong questioned the authority and legal basis upon which the GBA is making its claims regarding the Chief Justice’s suspension, arguing that many other respected legal minds within the association hold contrary views.

“For the GBA to be making these pronouncements now—where have they been all this while?” he asked. “We’ve seen serious governance issues, constitutional breaches, and institutional decay over the last eight years, yet the GBA has largely been silent. Suddenly, they’ve found their voice, and now they want to speak with such authority?”

“In relation to this issue of the Chief Justice, it doesn’t really hold water. If you subject it to even the stretches of the law, as others have argued, I don’t agree with or support the so-called call for revocation,” he noted.

“I struggle with what the GBA is actually saying on this. Only a few days ago, they issued a statement that was relatively balanced. Now, suddenly, they’ve taken a much stronger position—apparently backed by just 47 out of over 5,000 members,” he added.

He stressed that nothing about the President’s actions in the Chief Justice matter appears to contravene the Constitution, adding that the President is following due process.

“If the GBA truly believes what the President is doing is unconstitutional, they should go to court. Let the judiciary settle it. But I suspect they would struggle to make a convincing case.”

READ ALSO:

• Friday, November 8 not a public holiday despite Farmers’ Day celebration
• NPP disappointed in EC over denial of accreditation to printing houses
• FWSC pleads with CLOGSAG to suspend planned strike

This decision highlights the judiciary’s priority to protect its members and maintain safety, as rising tensions in Bawku have disrupted stability and posed risks to judicial operations in the area.

A formal directive from the Chief Justice was sent to judges in the region, ordering the immediate closure of the courts to safeguard judges, court staff, and the public.

Speaking to Citi News, Saviour Kudze, Public Relations Officer of the GBA, explained that the decision was made in consultation with security forces, who provided crucial intelligence and insights on the growing security threats.

“In light of the developments outlined by the Chieftaincy Minister, I believe intelligence from security agencies necessitated the court closures to ensure safety.”

He added that the judiciary’s intent in closing the courts is to prevent potential risks to judicial staff and officers, who might otherwise be caught in the crossfire of the unrest.

Mr. Kudze also hinted at the possibility of alternative arrangements if the situation does not stabilize soon, mentioning the reassignment of cases to nearby regions, such as Tamale, to avoid backlog and uphold individuals’ legal rights amid the court closures.

“The Chief Justice, as head of the judiciary, is in regular contact with security agencies. Following the latest updates from the Chieftaincy Minister, the intelligence they provided likely informed the decision to close the courts.”

The Chief Justice’s circular indicates that the closures are indefinite for now, but the situation will be closely monitored. If necessary, the judiciary may relocate cases to maintain continuity in the judicial process.

READ ALSO:

• Bawumia pays glowing tribute to Akua Donkor
• Supreme Court’s ruling on vacant seats ‘very solid’ – Bobby Banson
• Central Region: Chief remanded over fatal shooting at Mankessim’s Odambea Festival

In a touching message shared on social media, he hailed her achievement as a significant milestone for gender equality within the legal profession.

Efua Ghartey, a highly regarded lawyer with extensive experience, was elected by her peers, marking a groundbreaking moment for women in the GBA’s leadership.

In his message, Joe reflected on their journey together, recalling their wedding day 32 years ago and celebrating Efua’s strength, dedication, and faith.

“Over the years, she has been my strength; with a heart of gold, a spine of steel, and a gentle disposition,” he wrote.

“Today, she is the President of the Ghana Bar Association. What can I say except that God makes all things beautiful in His time. Congratulations, Madam President! Anything for the boys?” he added.

See the full post below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Joe Ghartey (@thejoeghartey)

Source: Adomonline

READ ALSO:

• Akufo-Addo congratulates Efua Ghartey on her historic election as first female GBA President
• Profile of GBA’s first female President, Efua Ghartey
• Efua Ghartey makes history as first female GBA President

Her election breaks a longstanding barrier in an institution that has been traditionally led by men. Ghartey’s victory is celebrated as a pivotal moment for gender equality within the legal sector, inspiring many as she paves the way for future female leaders.

In a closely contested election, Ghartey secured 1,208 votes, defeating her opponent, Kwadzo Dzakpasu, who garnered 1,060 votes.

Her journey to this leadership position has been defined by her dedication to the legal profession, where she has built a reputation as a staunch advocate for justice. Her years of service and commitment have earned her the respect and admiration of her peers.

Ghartey’s election comes at a crucial time, as conversations around gender equality and women’s empowerment are gaining momentum across various sectors in Ghana.

Her rise to the presidency is seen as a reflection of the growing recognition of women’s capabilities and contributions to the legal profession.

In addition to Ghartey’s victory, Baffour Gyau was elected General Secretary, while Auralius Awuku was chosen as Assistant Secretary.

Saviour Kodzi retained his role as Public Relations Officer (PRO), with Lawrencia Adika elected as Assistant PRO. The new leadership team is poised to bring fresh perspectives to the GBA’s future.

As GBA President, Efua Ghartey is expected to lead with vision and integrity, advancing legal reforms and fostering greater inclusion within the profession.

Her victory comes after the passage of the Affirmative Action Gender Equity bill on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

The purpose of the Act is to effectively address social, cultural, economic, and political gender imbalances in the country, stemming from historical discrimination against women and persistent patriarchal socio-cultural systems and norms.

The Act seeks to ensure gender equity in both the public and private sectors.

READ ALSO:

• I became a taxi driver after I was sacked from NET 2 TV – GH Media School Rector
• Galamsey: We’ll start licking clay as water if we don’t act now – Dr Ken Ashigbey
• Organised Labour threatens nationwide strike over galamsey crisis

This year’s election features two exceptional women competing for the highest leadership roles within the Bar, raising the prospect of a landmark shift in the Association’s leadership.

Mrs. Efua Ghartey, a highly respected and experienced lawyer, is running for the position of National President for the third time.

Despite losing in two previous elections by narrow margins—67 votes to Mr. Anthony Forson and 65 votes to the current president, Mr. Yaw Acheampong Boafo—Mrs. Ghartey has remained steadfast in her quest for leadership.

With six years of campaigning and a reputation as an advocate for women’s rights, she has emerged as a frontrunner this year. Many believe her perseverance, coupled with her extensive service to the Bar, makes her well-positioned to secure victory. A win for Mrs. Ghartey would signify a progressive step forward for the GBA.

In tandem, Mrs. Victoria Barth, an outstanding lawyer with a strong academic background, is contesting for the position of National Vice President.

With a stellar teaching career at the Ghana School of Law, she has garnered the support of many young lawyers who have been inspired by her mentorship.

Additionally, her role as a key member of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s legal team during the 2021 election petition has earned her national recognition. Her candidacy has invigorated the race, with many seeing her as a natural fit for leadership within the Association.

If successful, the election of both Mrs. Ghartey and Mrs. Barth would mark a historic double win, breaking the long-standing male dominance of the GBA’s leadership.

This milestone would come at a crucial time, aligning with the recent passage of the Affirmative Action Act under the Akufo-Addo administration, which aims to promote gender equality and empower women in leadership positions.

Their victory would send a powerful signal that the GBA is ready to embrace a more inclusive and forward-thinking future.

As the election draws near, the anticipation within the legal fraternity is palpable. Should the GBA members choose these two trailblazing women to lead, it would not only make history but also set a transformative precedent for the future of the Bar.

READ ALSO:

• Ordering military to kill illegal miners can’t fight galamsey – Small Scale miner
• DRIP equipment: Nkwanta South MCE calls for effective collaboration
• Killing illegal miners is not an offense – Prof Ofosu Marfo

Speaking at the GBA’s 2024/2025 annual general conference, President Yaw Acheampong Boafo criticized the current system, arguing that it disproportionately favours individuals from privileged backgrounds who can afford to pursue their education without financial aid.

Mr. Boafo stressed that scholarships should be awarded based on genuine merit, financial need, and relevance to critical fields of study and research.

He described the practice of awarding scholarships to politically connected individuals as “immoral and troubling,” emphasizing that it deprives brilliant but needy students of opportunities.

The GBA president also pointed to reports of corruption, nepotism, and political favoritism in the scholarship process.

He condemned the practice of awarding multiple scholarships to the same individuals, while others who desperately need financial assistance are left out.

Mr. Boafo further questioned the practice of allocating scholarships in foreign currency for studies abroad, particularly for programs that are available at local universities.

The GBA is calling for a comprehensive review of the government scholarship system to ensure it is fair, transparent, and accountable.

“In my view, government scholarships should be based on real merit, the economic and financial needs of beneficiaries, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the relevance of the studies to critical areas of development,” he stated.

“It is unacceptable that scholarships are awarded to individuals with political ties who are already from wealthy backgrounds, while deserving, underprivileged students are overlooked. Reports of corruption, nepotism, and political patronage in the scholarship process are deeply concerning.”

“It is also troubling that scholarships in foreign currencies are granted for studies abroad when similar programs can be pursued locally. We need a thorough review of the scholarship distribution process to ensure fairness and prevent waste,” he added.

Source: Adomonline

It is even more exciting to be here in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region.

I must acknowledge our big fortune in securing the attendance of this event by the Otekokorso, the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II. To my mind, this is only the second time Otumfuor has attended the Bar Conference. Perhaps our fortune today is also because his dear wife, Lady Julia, is a lawyer. The Otumfuor calls me “me ba” to wit “my son”. Ohene kesie, your son is truly appreciative of your wise counsel at all times.

I am not surprised Mr. Yaw Boafo brought this conference to Kumasi. He is a true Ashanti man. As his last conference as Bar President, which better place to hold the event than at his own back yard! On a serious note, I must convey my felicitations to Yaw Acheampong Boafo, President of the Bar and the Executive Council. Collaborating with you in the interest of the Bar has been a pleasure. I wish you, Yaw and your executives, the very best in your future endevaours as you bow out.

Learned friends, since March, 2021, by the Grace of God, I have had a chance that few lawyers have ever had to serve as the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice of our great Republic (the 25^th since independence), to work with wonderful public servants, some of the best lawyers I have known, the best law enforcement agents, wonderful administrators and great support staff in the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice.

The enormity of responsibility of the grand old office of Attorney-General is recorded in history. Sir Patrick Hastings who had a long career as a successful barrister in England but a rather short stint as Attorney-General of England and Wales between January, 1924 and November, 1924, described the role of the Attorney-General as his “idea of hell”. Much earlier, Francis Bacon, Attorney-General and Lord Chancellor of England and Wales – in the 17th century – described it as “the painfullest task in the realm”. Quite recently, the immediate past Attorney-General of the United States of America, William Barr, who had two stints as Attorney-General (first under President George W. Bush Snr. when he was only 39 years, and the second under President Trump) authored a book chronicling his days as Attorney-General and guess what the title was – “One damn thing after another”. Three and a half years into the role, I consider it an honour and a privilege, though not without its own challenges, to be the Attorney-General and your leader thus far.

PUBLIC LEGAL SERVICE AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR CHANGE IN SOCIETY

With the unlimited licence given to me as leader of the Bar to address Conference on any topic, I intend to focus a big part of this speech on using law, particularly, public legal service, as an instrument for effecting change in Ghanaian society, whilst making remarks on the important theme for this conference. I will recall progress so far made by the Office of the Attorney-General in this regard.

The task of being an Attorney-General in the second term of a government is no easy one. It involves coming in at a time that the Government has implemented a set of policies in its first term and made some tough and hard decisions which may not necessarily be popular with the people. As the Attorney-General, it thus involves making yourself unpopular by telling your colleague Ministers that they cannot pursue certain legislation and policies, which, although in the national interest, may be incompatible with the law (I remember the painful opinion I gave to the Minister for Finance on the domestic debt restructuring at a difficult time of the nation and as well as the advice I gave to the Minister for Health at perhaps, a more difficult time in the history of the nation, during the COVID-19 crisis).

In our peculiar political environment, it also involves pitching yourself as a sworn enemy of your political adversaries through decisions you make that they may consider as impinging on their political fortunes, particularly in terms of prosecution and defence of civil actions against the government.

However, I have braved the challenges of the office and remained undaunted, because I love the law, and I love utilising the law as an instrument for developing Ghanaian society. With courage and strength, I have taken the slings and arrows of a critical free media, even when they are unjustified or wrong. I am strong in my conviction that there is no other institution that has affected, and, has the authority and the jurisdiction to affect so many components of justice in this country than the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice. Whatever I have done since 2021, I have done it in the best interests of Ghana and state attorneys and staff at the Law Office. I could not be prouder of our record of achievement over the last three and half years, and I am happy to note that since my initial address of this conference at Bolgatanga in September, 2021, I have delivered and in some cases, exceeded the delivery of every single promise I have made to you.

BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF THE OFFICE TO PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF THE STATE THROUGH CIVIL LITIGATION

Three years ago, when I stood before you at Bolgatanga, I undertook to build a formidable civil litigation team capable of zealously protecting the interests of the State in litigation, just as private legal practitioners do for their clients. The Civil Division, with the leadership of my humble self and my able deputies, has lived up to this challenge and done so much to protect our taxpayers’ pocket in litigation in a way that staggers the imagination. Through an unwavering commitment to justice and the protection of the interests of the State, the Office of the Attorney-General has succeeded in saving the State many billions of United States dollars, being the equivalent of over Fifteen Trillion Ghana Cedis in numerous civil litigations in Ghana and in various international fora since I assumed office. The era of unwarranted, dubious and scandalous judgment debts against the State, I can say, are clearly a thing of the past.

There has not been a time that the Office has been more exposed to international litigation than the era in which we live. Industrialisation, the expansion of the economy and increase in investments have enhanced the risk of the nation in dealing with challenges filed on the international stage in respect of disputes arising from the State’s relations with corporations and multi-nationals. The State has had to litigate in the domestic courts of Norway (from the Oslo District Court all the way to that country’s Supreme Court), it has had to defend numerous arbitration claims in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration, ad hoc arbitration tribunals with seats of arbitration being Paris, Stockholm, New York, etc.

It is gratifying to note that in each of these international arbitration claims filed since 2021, the State has achieved favourable outcomes with little or no cost to the nation. We have protected state properties, preserved the nation’s rights and fought off claims for billions of United States Dollars against the State even in a situation where a particular decision of a Minister is impugned by an international tribunal.

The most remarkable feature of this development is that a sizeable amount of this litigation is conducted by personnel of the Office of the Attorney-General led by the Attorney-General himself and his deputies. Such is the strength of the capacity of the Office that, now memorials, pleadings and written submissions filed by the Office of the Attorney-General compare favourably with those filed by any lawyer on the international stage.

And we defend these claims in the face of the severe constraints of challenges which have always characterised working in the Office of the Attorney-General, when representing the State in these actions.

I am aware that some hired advocates for these unsuccessful claimants against the State and self-styled social commentators masquerading as civil society and experts in all subjects, except perhaps the creation of man, hastily take to social media to denigrate the efforts of the State in defending such gargantuan claims and in fact, distort the effect of awards and judgments in favour of the State. I only say in reply, that there ought to be a modicum of patriotism.

Ironically, these same people are quick to trumpet adverse awards given against Ghana in the past, obviously basking in the joy of such situations. Can they just pause for a moment to reflect on what would have happened to the Ghanaian economy if even a fraction of these claims for billions of United States Dollars and trillions of Ghana Cedis had succeeded?

PROSECUTION AS A TOOL FOR ENSURING JUSTICE IN THE NATION

In the area of prosecution, the Prosecutions Division has ably lived up to its constitutional duty of being the prosecutor of all crimes in the country. They have pursued justice with courage, based on the evidence and the law, in a way that makes me very proud, even though prosecution of so-called high-profile economic crime is often thwarted by unjustified delays occasioned by the filing of unnecessary applications and frivolous interlocutory appeals.

In a country where prosecution of the perceived high and mighty is often mischaracterised as persecution and sometimes unfairly scrutinised by the courts, they have braved all challenges. When rulings and judgments adverse to their interests are given, in the best tradition of the profession, they have appealed them and many a time, they have been justified in that course.

The past four years have been interesting for the prosecutions division as it surmounted novel challenges including conducting trials that they were hitherto, unfamiliar with. I led them to conduct a historic high treason trial, one never experienced in this country for many decades before. We secured conviction of 6 out of the 9 surviving accused persons put on trial. In response to some strange and deplorable attempts by certain elements to cause a fragmentation of the borders of the country, the prosecution team defended the territorial integrity of the Republic by instituting criminal proceedings against over a hundred people in all in the High Court at Wa, Ho and Accra for secession, another unusual prosecution. Fortunately, most of the accused have so far been convicted.

Illegal mining (galamsey) continues to cause incalculable damage to our forest reserves and river bodies. In the teeth of the difficulties prosecutors encounter in the courts in the prosecution of illegal mining offences, the Criminal Division has enjoyed some success even though there is still room for more to be done. From August 2021 to date, at least 76 persons, including 18 foreigners have been convicted. They include the acclaimed Chinese galamsey queen, Aisha Huang, who was convicted on 4^th December, 2023 of offences committed between 2014 and 2016 in the era of the previous government. Most of the convicts were sentenced under the new law – Act 995 to a minimum of 15 years plus a heavy fine in the case of a Ghanaian and a minimum of 20 years plus a hefty fine for a non-Ghanaian. Currently, over 140 cases of illegal mining involving over 850 accused persons are being prosecuted in courts in the Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Greater-Accra and Upper East Regions of Ghana. Some are near conclusion.

The unsung heroes of the Office of the Attorney-General are the Legislative Drafting Division. They are that army of well-disciplined, properly-trained, meticulous lawyers whose task is to set the legislative framework for all we do. Without them, none of the three arms of government can function. The Legislative Drafting Division has been responsible for carrying my vision of law reform in both civil and criminal aspects of the law. They have paid great attention to the public policy of the law and have drafted in all about 60 Acts of Parliament and innumerable subsidiary legislation.

CHALLENGES AT THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND EFFORTS MADE THE PAST FOUR YEARS TO ADDRESS THEM

Whilst placing on record the yeoman’s efforts of the various divisions of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice which have kept the nation safe and sound, we cannot ignore the hitherto deplorable conditions in which state attorneys work. My visits to the head offices of various agencies under the Ministry of Justice revealed hugely undesirable working environments and the lack of basic tools for service to the nation.

In order to address this, in February, 2022, on account of a directive made by His Excellency the President for the Minister for Finance to urgently assist the Ministry with some funds for its operations, I purchased ninety-one (91) vehicles for the Ministry, which represent the biggest fleet ever acquired for the Ministry, and which were distributed among the various regional offices and agencies. Thus, the Legal Aid Commission, which previously had only 6 vehicles, received 13 more. The Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) added 13 vehicles to their fleet. The Council for Law Reporting, which had only 2 vehicles, received 4 more. The Law Reform Commission which had only 1 vehicle acquired in 1996, received 2. The Copyright Office whose last vehicle was acquired in 2008, received 2 more.

To lay the building blocks for the transformation of two very important institutions whose mandate is crucial for enhancing access to justice delivery and the modernisation of the law in Ghana – the Legal Aid Commission and the Law Reform Commission, the President on 10^th August, 2022, launched the Legal Aid Commission Fund and the Law Reform Commission Fund.

The Government indeed demonstrated its commitment to transforming the two institutions by donating an initial amount of One Million Ghana Cedis to each of the Funds. I am of the fervent hope that the boards of the 2 institutions which are by law, charged with responsibility for managing the Funds, will come up with innovative means of ensuring that sufficient contributions and donations are made to the Funds, to end the perennial lack of funds syndrome which has always plagued these two very important institutions of the state.

The dreadful office accommodation challenge of the Ministry of Justice was legendary. The situation was so critical that some state attorneys were utilising shipping containers as their offices when I assumed office. Work on a 12 – storey building, comprising 10 levels above ground and a two-tier underground car park to accommodate the Ministry of Justice, which incidentally, the current President commenced in 2001, when he was the Attorney-General, had stalled over the years, with the state of works was officially recorded as only 36% complete by June, 2021, when I visited the site with His Excellency the President. Through the necessary commitment of resources and diligent supervision, I am happy to state that by the Grace of God, the 12-storey edifice named “the Law House” -new Head Office of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, has been completed and was duly commissioned on 10^th June, 2024. I have indeed moved into the new building.

THE FUTURE OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Mr. President, I dream of a modern public legal service for our nation fully equipped to discharge its onerous constitutional and statutory duties to the Republic of Ghana. Towards realising this dream, I am of the fervent hope that, soon, each of the regional capitals of the country from which the Attorney-General operates will boast of its law house. I have commenced discussions in this regard with the World Bank towards the possibility of a funding of this project, but definitely, this can only be realised in the next term of the NPP Government.

The expansion of the Ghanaian economy with its attendant myriad of needs calls for an enhanced public legal service to address the complexity of emerging challenges. The number of state attorneys presently, about 300, is woefully inadequate. This partly accounts for the inordinate delays in the delivery of legal opinions, defence of claims against the state and prosecution of crime.  We need about 1,500 state attorneys for a proper discharge of the functions of the Attorney-General under Article 88 of the Constitution. We need to embark on a massive recruitment exercise of lawyers for the public service in order to satisfy the demands of the state.

In 2021/2022, the capacity of the Office was augmented with the recruitment of about 60 attorneys. Processes are currently underway to employ a further 70 fresh attorneys with interviews scheduled for the latter part of the month. This will bring the number of attorneys recruited over the past three years to 130.

I envisage that every ministry, department, agency or district assembly ought to be serviced by at least one state attorney. The situation whereby some ministries, department, agencies or metropolitan, municipal and district assembly employ their own lawyers does not augur well for proper harmony and synchronisation of government’s legal work. Thus, my vision is that in the near future, to ensure cohesion in the public service and avoid an uncoordinated approach which leads to inefficiencies, all lawyers working for each of these public institutions ought to be employed by the Office of the Attorney-General.

In the meantime, pending the firm institution of such a policy, I have planned a conference of all lawyers working in the public service, whether they are state attorneys or not, for some time in October. The conference, organised with the support of Prof Kofi Abotsi of UPSA School of Law, will provide a platform for knowledge sharing and refresher engagement with the ultimate objective of building the capacity of lawyers working for the state in various agencies and departments in the areas of negotiation, structuring, drafting and review of government contracts, contemporary issues in international arbitration and ensuring improved inter-agency collaboration.

To build that desired world-class legal service for Ghana, there is a pressing need for lawyers generally, and particularly those in the public service, to constantly add value to themselves. It was with this motive that a partnership between Georgetown University, Washington DC, and the Government of Ghana represented by the Attorney-General executed in September, 2021 seeks to ensure that each year, five lawyers (from both the public and private sectors) would benefit from a post-graduate legal education sponsored by a scholarship jointly funded by Georgetown University and the Scholarship Secretariat of Ghana. Indeed, the first batch of five lawyers who profited from this arrangement successfully completed their studies in May, 2023. I must acknowledge the hiccup that arrangement has suffered in view of funding difficulties. I will explore means of boosting same.

In addition to this, my ministry assists state attorneys to regularly pursue various academic courses relevant to their roles and sponsored by some state institutions, in prestigious universities abroad, including the so-called Ivy League institutions.

AREAS OF THE GHANAIAN LEGAL SYSTEM REQUIRING URGENT REFORM

We must perceive law as a tool for promoting good governance and creating a Ghanaian business environment characterized by transparency, certainty and fairness and in which the interests of the nation are secured. For this matter, there are many areas of our legal system that require the intervention of the State to introduce reform to ensure that the quest for private sector development and foreign investment does not have the vicious result of impoverishing the State. There is also the need to ensure that crime or wrongdoing does not go unpunished, particularly for the privileged in society.

In this regard, I have had the kind cooperation of the President of the Republic and his Cabinet as well as the Parliament of Ghana, in introducing some far-reaching reforms. A little over a month ago, the Ghana Arbitration Centre, a requirement of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), which had been outstanding since 2010, was set up. The establishment of the ADR Centre presents a viable opportunity for multi-billion dollar commercial disputes and cases involving the use of the nation’s natural resources to be resolved in Ghana. It will also enable members of the Ghana Bar Association, to sharpen their skills in the resolution of such disputes. Taking account of Ghana’s strong democratic credentials, the ADR Centre should propel Ghana into an arbitration hub in Africa, particularly West Africa.

Further reform of the arbitration environment in Ghana is needed. In this regard, I have the firm instructions of the President to take steps to ensure that most international arbitrations involving Ghana take place right here in Ghana and are regulated by Ghanaian law. Thus, I will present to Cabinet in the next few days, as part of the processes for the passage into law, an amendment to the State (Property and Contracts) Act, 1960 (CA 4), to mandate all contracts involving the State and its agencies as parties, to not only stipulate Ghana law as the governing law but also to have Ghana as the seat of arbitration and with the ADR Centre in Accra being the venue for the arbitration.

With this amendment, the practice whereby the State and Ghanaian lawyers travel to various jurisdictions – Paris, New York, London, Singapore, etc. for the conduct of arbitration involving the Government of Ghana and where arbitral awards are enforced all over the world at enormous cost to the State will cease and will be consigned to history.

An important piece of legislation introduced recently which seeks to reduce unnecessary cost to the taxpayer is the Contracts (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1114), by which public officers are prohibited from entering into a contract on behalf of the State in which the rate of interest is stipulated as compound interest. By Act 1114, it is expected that contracts with high rates of interest especially compound interest which result in huge judgment debt and financial loss to the State, like what occurred in the NDK Financial Services Limited v. The Attorney-General & 2 Others case a few years ago, will be avoided.

The criminal landscape of our country also witnessed some reform by an effort to ease congestion in the courts and prisons through the passage of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1079) which formally introduced plea bargaining into the criminal jurisprudence of the country.

Without a doubt, the most far-reaching reform of criminal law practice in this country will be achieved when the law that will enhance the speed of adjudication of criminal cases and address the problems associated with the jury system is enacted. I therefore call on Parliament, to as a matter of urgency, pass the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Bill sponsored by the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice and approved by Cabinet, which I laid in Parliament on 14^th March, 2024. Our criminal practice continues to be steeped in the very old and traditional ways of doing things known to the common law jurisdiction, even where the masters of the tradition have long reformed.

For instance, in Britain and the United States, interlocutory appeals in criminal practice are significantly controlled and virtually eliminated. Further, not every verdict in every criminal trial is appealable all the way to the highest court. Whilst mindful of the constitutional imperatives in our legal system, the Bill seeks to place due restrictions on interlocutory appeals by postponing the filing of same to only after a determination by the trial court of a submission of no case, scrapping of trials on indictment except where the offence is punishable by death or life imprisonment, providing for examination of witnesses by video conferencing, adoption of proceedings in criminal matters, day-to-day trial of all criminal cases except where same is impracticable and reform of the jury system to reduce the list of exemptions from jury service, the composition of the jury (by addition of alternate jurors), etc.

My Office is also in the process of preparing a new Legal Profession Bill as part of measures to comprehensively, and in a more sustainable way, address among other things, issues relating to access to legal education, rules on call to the Bar and regulation of professional conduct. I am however happy to note that in the past four years, we have recorded the highest admission of persons to study law and the biggest call of persons to the Bar in the nation’s history.

In all, over 3,000 persons have been called to the Bar since 2021. In 2022 alone, over one thousand (1000) lawyers were called to the Bar, the highest in the country’s history at that time. In 2023, this record was broken with the admission of 1,286 lawyers at both the Main Call and Mini Call ceremonies. I, as Attorney-General in 2021, personally ensured the admission of some 499 students into the Ghana School of Law by presenting a petition to the General Legal Council, a situation for which the Bar President still holds a grudge against me.

It is correct to say that for many of the junior lawyers, your presence in this room has been made possible by the positive decisions to broaden access to the legal profession by the Akufo-Addo administration. We believe in broadening access to legal education whilst preserving standards and quality, cherished values without which the legal profession will lose its relevance to society. With these giant strides, I am confident that the future of the legal profession is bigger, brighter and better.

FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS AND THE ROLE OF IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS OF STATE INCLUDING THE JUDICIARY AND LAWYERS

Mr. President, the lofty ideas expressed today about the creation of a sound business environment and using law as an instrument for change in the public sector will not materialise without a sustenance of the democratic order in which we live. Fundamental to democracy and preservation of the rule of law is the organisation of free and fair elections. The centrality of elections to democracy, and by necessary implication, the rule of law, implies that irrespective of the circumstance in which Ghana finds itself, the Electoral Commission must live up to its constitutional mandate of providing the mechanism for the citizenry to express themselves through the conduct of credible and fair elections.

The indispensability of democracy as a tool for good governance has been expressed many times in history. Indeed, in the words of the acclaimed British statesman, Sir Winston Churchill, in his address to the UK Parliament in November 1947:

“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

National elections, represent a pre-eminent and I will say, undeniable opportunity, for the electorate of every country to exercise real power over how they are governed and by whom. It is the means by which the State will be preserved.

The distinguished son of Ghana, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (may his soul rest in peace), in a speech at the CDD Kronti ne Akwamu Lecture in June 2016, had this to say about the strength of Ghanaian democracy:

“Ghana has thrived under democracy since it was reintroduced [under the Fourth Republic], and our society, as well as our economy, has thrived as a result. We must never stop reminding ourselves of that fact. Yes, our country has its problems, but all countries have problems.”

The credibility of Ghanaian democracy and the conduct of elections in this country can clearly not be denied by any objective on-looker. We must resist the vain efforts of naysayers who constantly sow seeds of doubt about the credibility of Ghanaian elections. The Electoral Commission of Ghana has had a sound appreciation of the sacred constitutional responsibility it bears to the people of Ghana since 1992. Remarkably, it remained unshaken in its quest even in the teeth of COVID-19, and rose to the occasion in 2020 in delivering an internationally affirmed free, fair, and perhaps, the most transparent elections since the inception of the Constitution in 1992.

It bears emphasising that an election is a process. Among other things, it includes the demarcation of boundaries, registration of eligible voters, the creation of voters’ register, printing of ballot papers, distribution of ballot papers to voting centres, supervision of voting, the casting of votes, counting and processing of the votes, the declaration of the winner or winners, etc. So far, I have not noticed anything untoward about the Electoral Commission’s handling of the process.

Even though Ghana has come far in consolidating democracy as her way of life and we can almost consider free and fair elections in this country as a matter of course, we cannot take that progress for granted. For this reason, we continue to talk about these things as a way of entrenching those undoubted values we hold dear and warding off potential wreckers of the peace of the nation. We must steadfastly resist the dishonourable deeds of those who without cause, sow seeds of doubt in the ability of the Electoral Commission to organise a credible election. We must deplore, jettison and without any reservation, reject rhetoric which fans the flames of conflict.

Freedom is not free, and it is up to us – here and now – to ensure that the gains and triumphs of the past remain intact for generations of Ghanaians unborn. We have come a long way in our struggle to build a Ghanaian society founded on the ideals in the Preamble to the Constitution, 1992.  However, we still have a long way to go.

Respectfully, a discussion of these matters without an acknowledgment of the role of the law will be incomplete. The political architecture of the current Republic of Ghana is indeed a creation of the law. Lawyers therefore have a massive role to play in sustaining democracy in Ghana. Unsurprisingly, the leadership of the various political parties is dominated by lawyers. We have a duty to ensure the proper education of the entire citizenry on regulations affecting the conduct of the elections, the duties of the citizen, and of course, dispelling misconceptions about the actions of the Electoral Commission, rather than being agents for the propagation of falsehood.

For lawyers, who regularly appear as guests on media programmes and take to social media to run commentary, I will repeat an admonition I gave at the Bench, Bar, Faculty Lecture in October 2022, that the spread of false information by lawyers and disregard for the cherished values of the legal profession, apart from being disreputable, poses a far greater threat to cohesion in society, if it comes from lawyers. In social media interactions, lawyers ought to be mindful of the requirements of the profession in so far as ethics is concerned. Technology did not eradicate ethics. Neither did it render the need for ethical compliance any less important or necessary. The time-honoured requirements to be truthful and not to unjustifiably assail the integrity of others, disparage the character of people and abuse the rights of others ought to be strictly adhered to by lawyers. Lawyers have no business promoting election-related violence.

In talking about the place of law in the conduct of a free and fair election, we cannot forget that the work of the Judiciary sits at the very heart of our society and our democracy. Judges are often called upon to make decisions on some of the most difficult questions arising from the conduct of elections. They are decisions that very few of us would feel comfortable making. However, it is judges, who with their wisdom derived from long experience, training and discipline, will make such decisions in furtherance of the principle that justice should be done. We therefore have a duty to support the Judiciary and not to denigrate that important institution.

Ghana has gained a reputation worldwide for its justice system. Central to that reputation is the independence, integrity of the Judiciary and the quality of judgments emanating from our courts, with decisions sometimes cited in courts in other jurisdictions.  I can confidently say that I have been an Attorney-General in whose tenure the Judiciary has demonstrated complete independence and strength through decisions it gives in cases involving the State. In both civil and criminal jurisdictions, my Office has had many victories, but we have also experienced some adverse decisions. Examples are the decisions of the Supreme Court in Ghana Centre for Democratic Development & 8 others vrs. The Attorney-General (the removal of former Auditor-General, Mr. Dormelovo from office), Appiagyei Atuah vrs. The Attorney-General (the Imposition of Restrictions in Covid-19 case) and Ezuame Mannan vrs. the Attorney-General and the Speaker of Parliament (the Narcotics Control Commission Law case).

In a few situations where I consider the decision patently wrong and perverse to our legal system, I have resorted to processes for a correction of same through review or an appellate procedure.

Judges must also understand that they are not enemies of the people, or indeed of the government. The role of a judge is not only to restrain abuse of power but also uphold the work of government when it acts within its powers or is on the right path.

Our Judiciary must embrace the concept of open justice by publishing and explaining decisions and by allowing access to the courts – in person and through broadcasts. It is for this reason that I am proud to state that as Attorney-General, I have led in this quest of ensuring open justice in Ghana as a way of dispelling misconceptions, misinterpretations and misrepresentations of court decisions by making formal applications to the Chief Justice for live broadcast of particular court proceedings of overwhelming public interest. In point of fact, the first time there was live broadcast of proceedings in court, in a case other than a presidential election petition, was this year pursuant to my application, and it happened with the kind cooperation of Chief Justice Torkonoo. It is worthy to note that, the United States Supreme Court does not allow complete live telecast of proceedings. We must therefore appreciate our progress in this regard.

As I resume my seat, I must emphasise the need for a strong bar as a partner for nation building. A fragmented bar is not in the interests of the Bar itself. Neither is it for society. We must have one strong Bar Association. We must make the processes for a physical participation of all lawyers in the annual conference flexible. I am aware that some lawyers attempted to register a week or two ago but were not permitted to do so. They thus cannot vote or make their voices heard in important decisions. This situation cannot be right. We are still a small family. Our processes must be such as will encourage participation of all. Else, a time will come when lawyers will find it cumbersome or tedious attending the Bar Conference and participating in important decisions. I do not think the days when lawyers could show up on the morning of conference, register and be allowed to participate in the conference presented security risks. Let us find a way to change.

I am aware that this year is an election year. May I take this opportunity to wish the various candidates the very best.  May the best candidates win. I am grateful for the opportunity.

God bless us all!!!

GODFRED YEBOAH DAME

ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE

Describing the comments as reckless, Mr. Boafo urged for a collective national approach to tackling the critical issue of illegal mining, rather than turning it into a partisan debate.

Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip, made these allegations during an emergency parliamentary session on September 3, claiming that an investigation would reveal that the NDC contributed more to water pollution while in office.

However, speaking at the GBA’s 2024/2025 annual general conference, Mr. Boafo expressed shock at the conduct of the legislator.

“It was quite shocking and deeply regrettable to hear a member of the parliamentary leadership accuse the Minority party of polluting Ghana’s waters more than the current ruling party.

Such an irresponsible statement from a Member of Parliament reflects a deeper issue plaguing our country, where every national concern is reduced to partisan point-scoring under the guise of political policing” he added.

Source: Adomonline

READ ALSO:

• Archbishop Agyinasare hits hard at leadership over Galamsey menace
• Serving as AG in a government’s 2nd term is not easy – Dame
• Galamsey: Greed and ‘get rich quick’ mentality overtaking Ghanaians – Environmentalist

According to GBA, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng should have followed established legal procedures, including taking the matter to the Supreme Court instead of making public statements.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the GBA, Saviour Kudze, in an interview on Adom News said if Mr. Agyebeng is dissatisfied with a High Court decision, he can appeal to the Court of Appeals and subsequently to the Supreme Court rather than resorting to public statements.

“We believe the approach by the OSP is not the most appropriate in the sense that if a High Court or a court of first instance decides on a case and you are not satisfied, you have to exhaust the legal process. For instance you can go for appeal through to the Supreme Court” he added.

Mr, Kudze cited when a High Court decided that Dr. Stephen Opuni’s case should start afresh, the Attorney General appealed against the decision at the Appeals Court and it was overturned as an example and that is what they expect the Special Prosecutor to do.

He stated that, if the OSP follows all the processes and is able to back his concerns with facts and evidence, the Judges who are thwarting his efforts may be prohibited from sitting on his cases.

These comments from the GBA’s PRO are in response to Mr. Agyebeng’s recent statements during a press conference.

During the press conference, the Special Prosecutor accused the judiciary of displaying a disregard for the powers of his office by hastily dismissing its cases.

Mr. Agyebeng cautioned that the country faces the risk of losing the battle against corruption if his office cannot achieve its set objectives.

“As I mentioned earlier, I am not sounding like a prophet of doom, but there is a looming threat ahead of us. Very soon, a murderer might boldly seek an injunction. Should I feel frustrated and resign? I took an oath, and in my life, when I undertake a responsibility, I execute it to the best of my ability,” he emphasized.

• Allotey Jacobs exposes Bawumia’s campaign team
• Six arrested for alleged fraudulent fundraising for ‘sick’ individuals in Accra and Kumasi
• Sam Ankrah officially joins 2024 presidential race

He said the GBA has neglected its previous ways of enriching quality justice delivery in the country.

Speaking in an interview with Metro TV on Tuesday, September 5, Mr Edudzi Tamakloe insisted that, the Association must be concerned about the current precedent it is setting.

“What the bar is interested in is not this kind of conversation, the one that enriches quality justice delivery but the partisan posturing and attacking H.E John Mahama. In the past, the bar itself sometimes suggested names for promotion.”

“They will say this judge has done so and so and these are the quality of his judgements and so we as a bar suggest ABCD names for possible consideration but now what do we see?”

In his view, Mr. Mahama should be commended for raising the issue of the Judiciary for it to be addressed.

While speaking at the NDC Lawyers Conference in Akosombo over the weekend, the 2024 NDC presidential candidate accused President Akufo-Addo of appointing members of his party to the bench to influence decisions in their favour.

He thus charged NDC lawyers to prepare themselves to take up positions on the bench to balance out its composition.

“Our lawyers, some of you must be prepared to go onto the bench, I know that some of you have very lucrative legal practices you will not want to leave and go onto the bench. But you can see what the current President has done; he appointed the largest number of judges onto the bench. More than 80 towards hundred and counting.

“He’s packed the court and we know that they’ve packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. So, all manner of people who have been known to be partisan, to have been executives of their party who are in the legal profession have been leapfrogged onto the Superior courts and other places,” Mr. Mahama said.

But his comments have received some condemnations with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in particular calling him out.

The Public Relations Officer of the GBA, Saviour Kudze, said Mr Mahama’s comment is inappropriate and not backed by evidence.

He said while there’s nothing wrong with Mr Mahama advising a group of lawyers who have identified themselves as NDC lawyers to take up appointments on the bench, running down the same judiciary – an important institution that he seeks to superintend as a President in future – is wrong.

But the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs, Edudzi Tamakloe, who attended the NDC lawyers’ conference, disagrees with the critics of Mr Mahama.

ALSO READ:

• GBA condemns Mahama’s judiciary comments

• Mahama is right, NPP populating state institutions with cronies – Kwakye Ofosu

• Stop running down judiciary, it’s a dangerous precedent – Mahama told

Speaking over the weekend at the NDC’s Lawyers Conference, the former president accused President Akufo-Addo of appointing members of his party to the bench to influence decisions in their favour.

According to the former President, some of the NDC lawyers should ready themselves to take up positions on the bench to balance out its composition.

He said, “Our lawyers, some of you must be prepared to go onto the bench, I know that some of you have very lucrative legal practices you will not want to leave and go onto the bench.

“But you can see what the current President has done; he appointed the largest number of judges onto the bench. More than 80 towards hundred and counting.

“He’s packed the court and we know that they’ve packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office.

“So all manner of people who have been known to be partisan, to have been executives of their party who are in the legal profession have been leapfrogged onto the Superior courts and other places.”

Speaking to JoyNews in reaction to the statement, the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Bar Association, Saviour Kudze, described the comments as ill-informed, insisting a person’s political affiliation does not stop them from becoming judges.

“I will say first and foremost, the unfortunate and improper comment. I don’t know how he came to that conclusion. There’s nothing wrong with former president Mahama advising a group of lawyers who have identified themselves as NDC lawyers to take up an appointment on the bench.

“But to make the allegation that the bench has now been packed with NPP-aligned judges that is unfortunate. Mr. Mahama is a man of influence and whatever he says carries a lot of weight, but he must say it with evidence and with a lot of conviction. And the evidence is even more important than the conviction. If you want to be appointed to the bench, there are two critical things they must look out for in you; your moral uprightness and your knowledge of the law.

“I am yet to know of a requirement that will ask you of your political affiliation, political orientation, ideology and membership of a political party. I don’t know of it. The fact that a lawyer is a politician does not mean he cannot be appointed as a judge. As we speak now, there are many judges or some judges who were political party executives not necessarily NPPs, even though there’s a sitting high court judge who is a former member of parliament on the ticket of the NDC.

“Did they refuse to appoint that person because he was in politics? No, because they were not looking at his political affiliation, not at all. That comment must be condemned,” he explained.

Saviour Kudze added that it made no sense why the former president would condemn what he describes as a wrong act and then in the same breath propose to entrench the same.

“Look, basically he doesn’t like what is currently happening, why does he want to come and perpetuate it? It means he’s not coming to do a reform meanwhile he was talking about reform. If you want to reform a situation that you don’t like do you come to continue it? I don’t think so,” he said.

The Ghana Bar Association says such comments must cease as they poison the minds of citizens against the courts and erode trust in the judiciary.

“People with high influence of the stature of Mr. Mahama shouldn’t be saying this. Don’t forget he’s a candidate now vying to rule this country. Should he win this election, he’s coming to superintend on all these institutions.

“If you begin to say things like this about the institutions that you are yearning to come and superintend over does it augur well for our development as a state? That is why I am saying that you have made certain allegations assuming and not admitting they’re correct, why are you coming to perpetuate them?” he said.

It said such attacks were a direct affront on judicial independence and rule of law and must be denounced unreservedly by all well-meaning Ghanaians.

Mr Yaw Acheampong Boafo, President of GBA, said this at the 41st Anniversary Remembrance Service held for the three murdered High Court Judges at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra on Friday.

The three murdered judges are Justice Fred Poku Sarkodee, Mrs Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow and Mr Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong.

The judges and a Retired Army officer, Major Sam Acquah, were abducted on the night of curfew hours of June 30, 1982, and were brutally and savagely murdered at Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains.

Mr Boafo described the attacks and threats as ” untidy, irresponsible, reprehensible” and urged judges not to be deterred or be cowed by them.

He asked them to remain resolute and fearless in the discharge of their judicial oaths of doing justice to all manner of persons without fear or favour or affection or ill-will, and with integrity and professionalism.

The President of GBA said the courts and judges gave decisions based on what the “law is and not based on how a party or even some section of the people like it to be” .

According to him, hiding behind political interest to only ridicule and politicise judgements not from the angle of legal, scholarly, and constitutional appraisal, unfairly and inappropriately lowered the dignity of the courts and hurt the rule of law.

He, therefore, chastised the leadership of the Minority in Parliament for launching an attack on former Justice Anin Yeboah for allegedly presiding over “miscarriage of justice” during his tenure.

He ssid the author of the accusations was unable to give particulars of the specific cases or decisions by the former Chief Justice that occasioned the miscarriage of justice and what scientific tools he had used to measure the level of miscarriage of justice.

“I, therefore, urge people to be circumspect both in our actions and statements to ensure that no judge in this country should ever suffer the tragedy and fate of the martyrs we celebrate today.”

He said the judicial office “is and could be especially difficult and taxing one. One that involves a lot of sacrifices. It is why it becomes a very difficult decision for some lawyers to leave the bar for the bench. It can be a lonely place to be, too.”

He said, “inasmuch as the GBA will continue to advocate and defend the integrity, dignity and independence of the judiciary, we implore our judges to endeavour to eschew all acts of impropriety, biases, improper influences and work in fidelity to the judicial oath.”

Mr Boafo said the judiciary remained the country’s “succor and hope” when there were excesses on the part of the two arms of government.

“When it is looked at carefully, it will be seen that the judiciary is and remains the most veritable guardian of our constitutional rights irrespective of the social, political, and religious divides we belong to. The better choice is, therefore, for all of us to help to improve it and to better serve us; and not to attack and tear it down.”

The GBA President appealed to all to resolve to pursue and sustain the path of peace, love for one another and eschew all acts of violence and lawlessness.

He said after 40 years of the celebration of the unfortunate killing of the three High Court judges, it was time for the association to raise concerns about the continuous violation of people’s rights.

He said people were gradually losing trust in the justice delivery system and rather resorting to unorthodox means of resolving issues, including invocation of deities and seeking refuge in the media.

“They should go beyond the celebration of memorial days and raise conversation on issues of human rights,“ he said.

Rev. Dr Opuni Frimpong explained that this had come about due to the perception that justice was for the highest bidder or the privileged.

Image redemption

Delivering a sermon at this year’s Martyrs’ Day celebration in Kumasi, Rev. Dr Opuni Frimpong urged the GBA to redeem its image by going beyond just the celebration to provide legal education to the public.

“There are still those who hold the view that justice is for the highest bidder, those who have money, those who have gone to school.

“It is not for village people, the illiterates, to the extent that even pastors are abusing people, and we are saying that as a nation, if we still hold the conscience of what happened 41 years ago, we must put on the national agenda issues of human rights and human dignity,” he said.

He urged lawyers and judges to use the day to “talk to Ghanaians in schools, churches, markets and media platforms that never again should Ghanaian soil drink the blood of innocent people like it happened 41 years ago”.

Ignorance

Rev. Dr Opuni Frimpong said if the association failed to do that, ignorant people might again join the bandwagon if there was a call for “let the blood flow” as it happened 41 years ago.

“Those days, I was a student then, and we were ignorant.

We didn’t understand what was going on but we joined.

“Today, there are still people who are supporting such things, and what we are saying is that people do that out of ignorance.

They don’t understand the law, and the way to address that is to give what I call legal education beyond the Law school,” he said.

He said knowing one’s right should not be just the preserve of those who had gone to Law school but ordinary people as well, stressing that “it must be facilitated by the Ghana Bar Association”.

Call to duty

The Ashanti Regional President of the association, Kwame Owusu Sekyere, called on his colleague lawyers to remain vigilant and take cognisance of the threats to the rule of law in the country if the death of the departed judges was to remain meaningful.

He said the rule of law would be meaningless “if there is no access to speedy and effective justice anchored on robust and effective legal representation of persons in conflict with the law”.

He stressed that without access to speedy and effective justice, “persons, especially members of the vulnerable groups, are unable to have their voices heard, exercise and protect their rights or hold decision- makers accountable”.

The Martyrs’ Day celebration is in remembrance of Justices Fred Poku Sarkodee, Cecilia Koranteng-Addow and Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong, all judges of the High Court, and a retired Army officer,  Major Sam Acquah, who were abducted on June 30, 1982, and later murdered.

The 33-year-old has dominated the local and international media following his victory over Darryl Sharp at the Copper Boxing Arena in London last weekend.

There have been calls for the GBA to consider getting the lightweight fighter to contest on the ticket of his country of birth.

However, Kotei Neequaye says the Authority will not make the first move to reach out to him.

According to him, Gyimah, popularly known as Freezy MacBones, must prove his commitment and they will provide the needed assistance.

“We are not supposed to call him. He should reach out to us if he wants to fight as a Ghanaian, we are ready to support him,” he said on Accra-based Angel FM.

READ ALSO

• ‘I was told to focus on my cleaning job’ – Viral…

• ‘I came from nothing’ – Ghanaian boxer breaks down after winning…

Gyimah in an interview on Asempa FM’s Sports Nite Monday, also revealed he was discouraged when he first decided to go into boxing.

“It was a tough time [for me when I started boxing] because obviously, we have a lot of great boxers in the UK and as a village boy travelling all the way from Ghana to start boxing here at the age of 27, a lot of criticism came up,” he said.

“There was a whole lot but I never let myself down. I kept working hard and working toward my dream, pushing myself up until it happened,” he added.

With his victory from last weekend, Gyimah now pose a record of two wins in his first two professional fights.

The fees are quoted in both Ghana Cedis and US Dollars and are to be applied to services rendered to both Ghanaian and international clients as prescribed by law, the GBA directive of Thursday, April 21, noted.

The directive read in part, “the essence of these guidelines shall be negotiation and agreement between Counsel and the client within the range prescribed below before the commencement of the provision of legal services. The law entitles every lawyer to reasonable compensation for his services.

Read full statement below:

ALSO READ:

• LilWin’s wife, kids take over his social media on his birthday; fans react

• Becca shows off her big butt again after gym

• What Ghanaians are saying about the death of Dag Heward-Mills’ son

The CEO of Renault Ghana – Mr Jihad Hijazi, who signed on behalf of his company, expressed pride as well as a total commitment to the exciting new venture which will be broadcast LIVE every two weeks.

Speaking at the impressive signing and presentation ceremony at Premium Motors headquarters in Accra, Mr Hijazi said he believes boxing is about to step up a whole new level with the Professional Boxing League in the country.

“This is a project we are proud to be part of as our contribution to sports development in Ghana through boxing,” he said.

Meanwhile, iMax Media Group, who are lead investors with 1.7 million dollars for the Boxing League, was represented by Director Mr Fadi Fattal together with Yaw Ampofo-Ankrah and rederick Amoah.

The President of Ghana Boxing Authority, Abraham Kotei Neequaye, signed and sealed the contract with the highly respected car manufacturer.

Renowned Ghanaian Boxing promoters John Amanfo and Michael ‘Golden Mike’ Tetteh, also represented the Board of GBA.

The two vehicles will be presented to the Best Overall Boxing Gym and the Best Overall Boxer at the end of the upcoming bi-monthly boxing championship.

The novelty league, which is due to take off on the 19th of February 2022 at the Bukom Boxing Arena, will feature 12 gyms and over 100 boxers.

The Ghana Professional Boxing League itself was launched on 23rd December 2021 and has been hailed as one of the most significant sports projects in Ghana in recent times.

The GBA and iMax Media Group signed a five-year boxing development partnership deal at the launch in the presence of key boxing stakeholders.

At the launch, the CEO of Imax Media Group, Maxwell Techie, reiterated that it was indeed a great honour for his organisation to work with the entire boxing fraternity to rebrand, develop and promote boxing in Ghana.

The CEO of Renault Ghana, Jihad Hijazi, who signed on behalf of his company, expressed pride as well as total as commitment to the exciting new venture.

Speaking at the impressive signing and presentation ceremony at Premium Motors headquarters in Accra, Mr Hijazi said he believes boxing is about to step up a whole new level with the Professional Boxing League in the country.

“This is a project we are proud to be part of as our contribution to sports development in Ghana through boxing”.

Meanwhile, iMax Media Group, who are lead investors with 1.7 million dollars for the Boxing League were represented by the Group Director Mr Fadi Fattal together with Head of Sports Yaw Ampofo-Ankrah and Head of Radio Frederick Amoah.

The President of Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) Abraham Kotei Neequaye, signed and sealed the contract with the highly respected car manufacturers – Renault.

Renowned Ghanaian Boxing promoters John Amanfo and Michael “Golden Mike” Tetteh, also represented the Board of GBA.

The two beautiful Renault KWID vehicles will be presented to the Best Overall Boxing Gym and the Best Overall Boxer at the end of the upcoming bi-monthly boxing championship.

The novelty league, which is due to take off on the 19th of February 2022 at the Bukom Boxing Arena, will feature 12 gyms and over 100 boxers.

The Ghana Professional Boxing League itself was launched on 23rd December 2021, and has been hailed as one of the most significant sport projects in Ghana in recent times.

The GBA and iMax Media Group signed a five-year boxing development partnership deal at the launch in the presence of key boxing stakeholders.

At the launch, CEO of Imax Media Group, Maxwell Techie, reiterated that it was indeed a great honour for his organisation to work with the entire boxing fraternity to rebrand, develop and promote boxing in Ghana.

The first edition of the Ghana Professional Boxing League (GPBL) tournament is slated to take off on Saturday 19th February at 9PM and will climax with the final bout on 26th December 2022.

The Bar, in a statement issued on Thursday, July 8, and signed by its National President, Anthony Forson Jnr and National Secretary, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, listed a number of such incidents, some of which lead to deaths, and expressed hope that ongoing investigations “will be thorough, swift and fair and those found culpable will be duly punished.”

The statement said “Under no circumstances should operatives of the Security Agencies under the pretext of maintaining peace, manhandle and assault people or use physical force which sometimes results in the death of the victims. The rule of law must prevail at all times in our dear country.”

Among the listed instances of assault perpetrated by members of the security agencies against members of the public are:

1. The violence unleashed by security operatives in the Techiman South Constituency during the 2020 elections, which resulted in the death of two people while several others sustained injuries;

2. The use of firearms in the Ablekuma Central Constituency by a National Security operative and an unidentified soldier resulting in death and physical injuries in the course of the 2020 elections;

3. The conduct of personnel of the Ministry of National Security with respect to journalists of Citi FM/Citi TV on 11th May 2021. In that regard, the manner and mode of arrest employed by the said personnel was objectionable and unacceptable;

4. The death of two persons and injuries suffered by others following clashes between residents of Ejura and security personnel on 29th June 2021; and

5. Armed military personnel molesting and brutalising residents on the streets of Wa on 1st July 2021. Undeniably the behaviour of the military personnel in Wa on the 1st of July was extremely unprofessional, offensive and reprehensible.

“In the instances stated above, the conduct of the personnel of the Security Agencies was cruel and unacceptable. Security Agencies must be professional in the discharge of their duties. Under no circumstances should they have subjected people to such brutalities. Their actions culminated in the loss of lives and also caused injuries to others and we hereby condemn unreservedly these unfortunate events.”

The Chief Whip of the NDC Caucus in Parliament has accused a Supreme Court judge of trying to influence the outcome of the Speakership elections for the 8th Parliament.

Mubarak Muntaka who spoke on JoyNews’ The Probe on Sunday, alleged that a very prominent judge contacted an NDC MP; offering an inducement for a lady MP to vote in favour of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Speaker nominee, Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye.

According to him, although the Apex Court’s judge’s failed in his attempt, the party will probe the issue and take the appropriate steps if necessary.

In a press statement from the Association reacting to the comments, the Bar described the remark as unacceptable, “and hereby calls on Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka to substantiate the allegation or retract same and apologise to the Justices of the Supreme Court in particular, and the judiciary in general.”

They added that, “even though the 1992 constitution guarantees freedom of speech, that freedom should be exercised with circumspection and should not be used to incite hatred or to subject the Judiciary to ridicule and contempt.”

The GBA urged Ghanaians to be circumspect in relation to statements made regarding public officers and persons occupying positions of trust.

“They may be criticised but the criticisms should be constructive and not disparaging and demeaning,” the Association stated.

They also called on Public Servants to maintain high ethical standards in the execution of their duties “to inspire confidence in the general polity.”

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has indicated that he will be reaching out to the NDC Caucus Chief Whip to assist with investigations on the allegations he made against a Supreme Court Judge.

In a statement jointly signed by the Association’s President, Anthony Forson and the Secretary, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, they said although punishment needs to be meted out to individuals who flout the law, the penalties of Act 1012 and EI 164 are harsh.

“The GBA is apprehensive that the prisons which are presently congested, may shortly be teeming with convicts who are unable to pay fines imposed by Courts under Section 6 and paragraph 4(2).”

The GBA, therefore, recommended that “a fine of not less than 10 penalty units and not more than 150 penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not less than one month and not more than two years.”

READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has taken over the entire town following the gruesome murder of Captain Maxwell Mahama by the townsfolk.

Captain Mahama was lynched on suspicion that he was an armed robber, after a group of residents from whom he asked for directions during a Monday dawn jogging session spotted a pistol on him.

The soldiers are combing the town for Captain Mahama’s killers.

In a statement jointly signed by Benson Nutsukpui and Justin Amenuvor, President and Treasurer, respectively, the GBA said mob action of any sort was “unacceptable” and urged the law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to book to serve as a “deterrent to like-minded people.”

A circuit court in Kumasi on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 let loose the Octad due to lack of evidence to prosecute them, having allegedly invaded a court to free 13 of their colleagues who were standing trial for attacking the national security coordinator in the Ashanti region.

According to the umbrella body of lawyers in Ghana, it is “disturbed by the turn of events” and hopes it is not the “end of the matter.”

“It is the view of the GBA that justice will not be served if the discharge of the accused persons ends the matter,” a statement jointly signed by Benson Nutsukpui and Justin Amenuvor, the national president and national secretary of the GBA respectively said.

Below is the full GBA statement:

GHANA BAR ASSOCIATION’S STATEMENT ON THE DISCHARGE OF EIGHT ACCUSED PERSONS (DELTA FORCE) BY THE CIRCUIT COURT KUMASI

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has noted with disquiet the discharge of eight persons by the circuit court Kumasi on 17th May 2017 supposedly on the advice of the Attorney General’s Department

The GBA is disturbed by the turn of events and hopes that the discharge of the said accused persons would not signify an end of the matter.

It is the view of the GBA that justice will not be served if the discharge of the accused persons ends the matter.

The Bar calls upon the Ghana Police Service to thoroughly investigate the matter in its entirety. We call upon the police to interview the court officials, lawyers and litigants who were in court on the day in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The GBA reiterates its call in the statement it issued on 6th April 2017 to ensure that all persons who played any role whatsoever in the attack on the court are arrested, duly charged and prosecuted.

Finally we wish to state that it is a threat to the Rule of Law if the impression is created that persons who engage in lawless acts can escape the arm of the law.

ISSUED IN ACCRA, THIS 18TH DAY OF MAY 2017

…………………………………. ……………………………………
BENSON NUTSUKPUI JUSTIN A. AMENUVOR
NATIONAL PRESIDENT NATIONAL SECRETARY

The Ghana Bar Association says it is a big threat to the rule of law if members of the vigilante group who assaulted a judge and disrupted court processes are allowed to walk.

A statement released by the Association, Thursday, called on the Police to, as a matter urgency, carry out a thorough investigation by interviewing lawyers, court officials and litigants who were in court on the day  hooligans affiliated to the governing party budged into the court to free 13 Delta Force suspects standing trial for assaulting the Ashanti Region security coordinator.

The statement follows a shocking decision by a Circuit Court in Kumasi to discharge eight members of the Delta Force who were accused of causing mayhem in court, assaulting the judge Mary Sankyire and freeing suspects standing trial.

The State Attorney in Kumasi entered into a nolle prosequi partly because there was no evidence to convict the eight suspects.

According to the attorney, the police failed to do a thorough investigation on the matter and only went around arresting people on the day of the court invasion without any intelligence.

The state Attorney also indicated that neither the lawyers, police personnel on duty on the day of the attack could identify the suspects charged for invading the court.

They had no option than to file a nolle prosequi which was granted by the judge who then discharged the suspects.

The discharge of the suspects has been condemned by sections of Ghanaians, especially the minority who have accused the government of pandering to political pressure.

The Ghana Bar Association has joined in the criticisms saying it is disturbed by the turn of events but hopes it will not signal the end of the matter.

GBA Vice President, Tony Forson told Joy News Wednesday, the Association has decided to study the judge’s ruling to understand what led to the decision.

He said GBA is still committed to its earlier statement that the eight men should be prosecuted for disrupting justice.

A Kumasi Circuit Court has discharged eight members of NPP-linked militia group, Delta Force, who were being tried after they disrupted court proceeding of 13 of their members on April 6, 2017.

They wanted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to appoint their leader who was instrumental in the NPP’s 2016 elections camapign.

Out of the 21 men who were rounded up by the police and arraigned, only 13 showed up. This compelled Presiding judge, Mary M.E. Nsenkyire to direct the 13 men to be kept in custody to reappear on April 20.

Dissatisfied with the judge’s decision, the well-built men numbering 50 stormed the court and resisted an order to hold 13 of their members in prison custody. They freed their colleagues.

Eight of them were charged with disturbing a court session, for resisting arrest, and freeing the 13 persons who were in lawful custody.

At a court hearing in Kumasi Wednesday, the case against the eight was dismissed due to the absence of evidence.

The Minority has asked President Akufo-Addo to demonstrate leadership by calling for the re-arrest and prosecution of the eight men without fail.

“We demand therefore that this cancerous exercise of discretion be reversed immediately and the accused re-arraigned before court without any further hesitation,” Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu said at a news conference in Accra.

Adding its voice to the condemnation of the judge’s ruling, GBA said it will be studying the decisions that led to the release before making its official stance know.

“We don’t really know what the truth is [but] when a lawyer is in court, the brief he has is what he use and not the information in the media,” Mr Forson told Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s Newsnite.

The Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo has said she did not order the discontinuation of the case involving the eight members of Delta Force.

In a statement signed by the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, the A-G said she has ordered investigations into the circumstances under which the Principal State Attorney in Kumasi dismissed the case.

The GBA Vice President described the development is an “interesting” one especially when the dismissal was blamed on the A-G.

The Association, in a statement, expressed utter shock at the group’s action which it described as “blatant disregard for the orders of a duly constituted court of law and attack on the Judge in the discharge of her lawful duties. This is an affront to the independence of the Judiciary and an attack on the rule of law”.

The GBA stressed that the vigilante’s action was “unacceptable”, endangers the country’s peace and “creates room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness” which is alien to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

“Such glorification of violence, dastardly acts and threat to our Judiciary cannot be tolerated or allowed under our democratic dispensation. It is totally unacceptable under whatever pretence to disobey orders of the court, attack or threaten to attack the person of the judge thereby endangering the peace of our country.

“The GBA notes that any system that allows an individual, group of persons or institutions to disobey orders made by a court of competent jurisdiction with impunity undermines the independence of the judiciary, creates room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness. This certainly has no place under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana”, the statement further read.

Full statement below:

GHANA BAR ASSOCIATION’S STATEMENT ON THE “DELTA FORCE” ATTACK ON THE KUMASI CIRCUIT COURT AND FREEING ITS MEMBERS ON 6TH APRIL 2017

The Ghana Bar Association is shocked and horrified at the news item and video recordings which have gone viral alleging that members of the supposed “Delta Force” have attacked the Circuit court in Kumasi earlier today after the Circuit Court presided over by Her Honour Mary Senkyere had reportedly ordered the thirteen (13) persons who were charged with the offence on conspiracy to commit crime, assault on a public officer, causing unlawful damage and preventing a public officer from doing his lawful duty, to be remanded in custody and re-appear on the 20th day of April, 2017.

The 13 persons who the Circuit Court ordered to be remanded in custody were said to have been taken away by the members of the alleged “Delta Force” in clear disobedience of the Court’s order.

The report further stated that the few police personnel present did their best to protect the Judge whilst the alleged members of the “Delta Force” destroyed some court property.

It is sickening and horrifying to watch the said videos of persons using violence as a means to defy the Court’s orders.

The GBA condemns in no uncertain terms this blatant disregard for the orders of a duly constituted court of law and attack on the Judge in the discharge of her lawful duties. This is an affront to the independence of the Judiciary and an attack on the rule of law.

Such glorification of violence, dastardly acts and threat to our Judiciary cannot be tolerated or allowed under our democratic dispensation. It is totally unacceptable under whatever pretence to disobey orders of the court, attack or threaten to attack the person of the judge thereby endangering the peace of our country.

The GBA notes that any system that allows an individual, group of persons or institutions to disobey orders made by a court of competent jurisdiction with impunity undermines the independence of the judiciary, creates room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness. This certainly has no place under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

We therefore call on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately re-arrest the 13 persons ordered to be remanded, cause a thorough investigation of the incident to ensure that all persons who played any role whatsoever in the attack on the court are arrested, duly charged and prosecuted.

We also call on the Minister of Interior to as a matter of urgency take steps to ensure the immediate disbandment of the “Delta Force” and all other vigilante groups that have sprung up in our country.

We call on all well meaning Ghanaians to condemn this resort to violence in flagrant disobedience of court orders.

The Bar wishes finally to emphasize that an independent judiciary is the backbone of the rule law.

A judiciary that is protected against all forms of intimidation and interference is the key to securing judicial independence and the freedoms of the citizenry.

We should therefore not, in any circumstance, countenance any attack whatsoever on the courts and the Judiciary as a whole for that matter.

Issued in Accra, this 6th day of April 2017.

Signed

Benson Nutsukpui
National President

Justin Amenuvor
National Secretary