Efua Ghartey , is GBA President
The Director of Legal Affairs for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Tamekloe, has criticised the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), accusing it of inconsistency and political selectivity in its public advocacy.
His comments follow remarks by Efua Ghartey, President of the GBA, during the Association’s annual conference in Wa, where she called for a Constitutional Instrument (CI) to regulate the determination of a prima facie case under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which governs the impeachment of superior court judges and other officeholders.
According to Tamekloe, the GBA’s current advocacy echoes arguments made by those who defended the recently removed Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, during her impeachment process.
He noted that at the time, defenders argued that the absence of a CI rendered the proceedings null and void.
The NDC lawyer questioned why the GBA had not taken a similar position in 2018, when then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo referred petitions for the removal of Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the former Electoral Commission Chairperson, to then-Chief Justice Sophia Akufo.
Following a prima facie determination, a committee chaired by Justice Anthony Benin recommended Osei’s removal in a split decision, which the President upheld.
Tamekloe recalled that journalist Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako later challenged the removal at the Supreme Court, citing the lack of a CI to regulate Article 146 proceedings.
However, in 2019, the Court unanimously dismissed the case after then-Deputy Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame argued that it was not a proper matter for the Court’s original jurisdiction.
“At that time, the GBA was quiet.
There was no noise about the lack of a CI. But today, the Association has suddenly found its voice,” Tamekloe said.
He warned that the Bar Association risks losing credibility if it continues to adopt what he described as a selective and politically convenient approach to national issues.
“When the Bar Association speaks, we must see some national interest in the message.
Instead, it appears the platform has been weaponised for political grandstanding,” he added.
Tamekloe, who noted that he remains a member of the GBA in good standing, urged the Association to undertake serious introspection in order to maintain its relevance in Ghana’s democratic and legal development.
