Oliver Baker-Vormawor is a private legal practitioner and an activist
Private legal practitioner and activist, Oliver Baker-Vormawor has opposed suggestions that families of victims who died during the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise at El Wak should be given automatic slots in the military.
He has described the proposal as unconstitutional and dangerous for national security.
In a detailed Facebook post on November 16, 2025, Baker-Vormawor expressed profound sympathy for the young Ghanaians whose lives were lost, stating that he had been consistent in condemning what he called the ‘murderous tomfoolery’ and negligence of the military command that led to the tragedy.
He maintained that while the nation owes the bereaved families meaningful support, it must not respond in ways that compromise the integrity of public institutions.
Family of late Dr Omane Boamah appeals for security service recruitment slots to honour his legacy
He argued that the Constitution envisions public institutions as serving the collective, not as avenues for compensation or memorial gestures.
Military recruitment, he insisted, should be guided strictly by competence, training requirements, and the operational needs of the state.
“Recruitment into the Armed Forces is not a memorial gift nor a welfare package,” he indicated.
Baker-Vormawor noted that although calls for automatic enlistment may stem from a compassionate impulse, they risk replicating the controversial ‘protocol’ slots often denied in public but privately acknowledged within political circles.
Extending such practices to the military, he warned, would open the door to hereditary entitlement within the security services.
He cautioned that establishing such a precedent could lead to a cycle in which every national tragedy becomes grounds for politically influenced recruitment demands.
Citing current calls from families affected by past military helicopter accidents, he said the El Wak incident had already revived similar appeals.
On constitutional grounds, Baker-Vormawor referenced Article 296, which requires that discretionary power be exercised fairly and without bias.
He argued that granting special recruitment pathways to one group would introduce arbitrary preference and violate the principle of equality before the law.
Beyond legality, he stressed the operational dangers: any deviation from merit-based recruitment compromises the discipline, preparedness, and integrity of the Armed Forces.
“The military is the one institution that cannot afford sentimental policymaking,” he noted.
Baker-Vormawor proposed that instead of altering recruitment standards, the state should focus on transparent compensation, psychological support, a full accounting of the incident, and reforms to prevent future lapses.
As a more dignified alternative to automatic enlistment, he suggested that the victims be granted honorary posthumous enlistment and accorded ceremonial honours similar to those reserved for cadets of the Ghana Military Academy.
He concluded that Ghana’s response to the tragedy should reinforce institutional strength and constitutional order, not weaken them through preferential treatment. The truest way to honour the victims, he said, is to ensure such a disaster never occurs again.
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