The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has rejected claims by Government Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu that the association is aligned with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The GBA’s reaction comes on the back of some public concerns over its perceived silence on controversial remarks made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin against a Circuit Court judge.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Monday, May 18, GBA Public Relations Officer Saviour Kudze described the NPP tag as disappointing and urged politicians to stop politicising the association.
“That doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s rather disappointing that every time this matter keeps coming up,” Mr Kudze said.
He argued that Ghana is facing more pressing national issues such as sanitation and illegal mining (galamsey) that deserve urgent attention instead of constant political accusations against professional bodies.
“It appears the many problems that Ghanaians are worried about — sanitation, galamsey — we don’t want to act on those ones. Anytime GBA speaks at certain times, he speaks for certain people, and he doesn’t speak for certain people,” he stated.
The controversy was triggered after sections of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) criticised the GBA for not publicly condemning Afenyo-Markin’s comments, which were widely seen as disrespectful to the judiciary. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, in a Facebook post, suggested that the association’s silence confirmed long-held perceptions that it leans towards the NPP.
Mr Kudze dismissed the allegation, stressing that the GBA is a unified professional body representing all lawyers irrespective of their political affiliations.
“Every time, GBA is a wing of NPP. I don’t know that. To me, it is not true,” he added.
He further noted that constantly tagging the association as partisan undermines the integrity of the legal profession and distracts from its responsibility to uphold the rule of law.
“How long can we continue to do this? It’s becoming a ritual. Can we move away from this?” he questioned.
Mr Kudze emphasised that while judges can be criticised, such criticism must be done through proper legal channels rather than public attacks that could undermine the judiciary. He called on political leaders to focus on providing solutions to identified problems instead of politicising professional institutions.