A:
Introduction
The
faces streaming out of the New Examination Centre of University of Cape-Coast
that fateful Monday mid-morning in September of 2023 was anything but
celebratory. In fact, the atmosphere outside the Centre was more funereal than conference.
It reminded one of the sad faces that troop solemnly out of a church when the
casket is being led outside, with momentarily angelic choristers leading the
procession with a sorrowful rendition of “Hark, Hark, My Soul!” It is unclear
whether it is the departing of the dearly beloved or the reminiscence of
mankind’s imminent mortality that gets mourners into such state of despondency
at recession time at burial service. Once the song’s refrain hits, the promise
of resurrection and life everlasting in the realm above comes within a hair’s
breadth:
“Aaaaaangels of Jeeeeeesus,
Aaaaaaangels of liiiiiiiiiight
Sinnnging to wellllllcome the pilgrims of the niiiiight.”Discover more
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On
that fateful Monday in Cape-Coast, though, the body that was being solemnly
carried from the Centre to eternity appeared to be Ghana Bar Association (GBA).
‘Who
killed the GBA?’
Well,
as the details go, the occasion was the opening ceremony of the GBA’s Annual
General Conference. The august occasion was graced by no mean a person than the
then President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The
then Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo (Mrs.) was in
attendance. So was the then Hon. Attorney-General, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame. The
GBA President and host, Mr. Yaw Acheampong Boafo was in full flight.
h
I
was at the Conference Centre but I was busily promoting my book, CIVIL
PROCEDURE & PRACTICE IN GHANA (2023) which had been newly released on the
precincts. I entered the Centre but left after a brief spell to attend to
business only to return at the end of the morning’s opening proceedings to be
greeted with mournful stares, interspersed with satisfactory smiles. As it
later became apparent from among some attendees, the speeches by the V.I.Ps in
attendance allegedly smacked of acclaims at a New Patriotic Party (NPP) rally. When
the speeches were later replayed on radio and online portals, I understood the
mournful scenes in the morning. Throughout the conference period, most casual
discussions often veered to the subject of the opening ceremony speeches. Not
surprisingly, soon after the conference, there were rumours of a lawyers’
association emerging from National Democratic Congress (NDC)-sympathetic
lawyers. Such rumours of splinter groups have always been rife after Bar conference
but there was some ominous feel to this particular one.
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At
the 2024 GBA Conference in Kumasi, the optics were not any different from the
previous year in terms of the V.I.Ps in attendance. So were the thrust and
direction of their speeches. What had radically changed was the turnout of
persons of NDC political persuasion who usually attended GBA Conferences; it was
low. At the same time, it emerged that a splinter bar group called Law Society
of Ghana - now officially called Ghana Law Society (GLS) - had been formed. It
later emerged that its founding President was, and still remains, leading NDC
politician, Hon. Rockson Dafeamekpor, MP.[1]
[1] He
is rumoured to have recently sent Sam Okudzeto, Esq. to an early retirement on JoyNews
TV, aged 198 years more or less
At
the 2025 GBA Conference in Wa, the table had completely turned. The President
of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, was the special guest of honour.
His smiling presidential portrait was plastered at all vantage intersections in
the City of Wa. He did not attend the conference. Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie,
special guest, also did not attend the conference. The GBA President, Mrs. Efua
Ghartey had to keep company with the other special guest invited from Britannia,
Mrs. Barbara Mills,[1]
ostensibly to lead the “#BringbackArabaCampaign.” Attorney-General Hon. Dominic
Ayine, MP was in attendance, purportedly only to restate his Government’s point-of-no-return
position on “#BringbackArabaCampaign”. He left the Conference right after
speaking to his heart’s content. Soon after the GBA returned from Wa, a group known
as NDC Lawyers Association announced and held its conference in Accra. The
people meant business.
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B: The Ada Or La Palm Puzzle
In
early 2026, the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) recommended that GBA must
be expunged from the Constitution, 1992 to create room for other law
associations to be recognized. The Government whitepaper on the CRC report has
accepted that recommendation. The Government’s implementation committee is
working around the clock to operationalize the recommendation, among many
others. Till date, neither the GBA nor those who found in its existence a
worthy platform for personal, professional and political maneouvering have spoken
in its defence. Perhaps, the CRC was right after all.
Before
the implementation of the CRC report begins, life must go on. Indeed, life is
going on. For the first time since Ghana became a republic in 1960, there are
two associations of lawyers holding annual conferences – GBA @ Ada and GLS @ La
Palm. Each association is selling its conference to attract lawyer attendees.
For the professional-and-politically-aligned, the choice is an easy one. The
Blues know where to go. The Greens know where to pitch camp. But for the
professional who simply wants to attend a professional conference, therein lies
the dilemma.
To
bring home the complex permutations and considerations, let us examine a few
criteria that might sway one to do Ada or La Palm.
|
CRITERIA |
GBA |
GLS |
|
Conference Venue |
Ada
- Aqua Safari Resort |
Accra
- La Palm Royal Beach Hotel |
|
Duration |
5
days |
1
day |
|
No. of Years Held |
Since
1960 |
Maiden
edition |
|
Theme |
150
Years of Ghana’s Legal Evolution: Transforming the Profession and Driving its
Future with Industry. |
Legal
Reforms: The Role of the Ghanaian Lawyer. |
|
Sub-Theme |
“The
Fall of an Entitled Empire” |
“The
Emergence of Ma te me ho Policy in
Bar Affairs” |
|
V.I.Ps in Attendance |
None
on flyers. |
0 President John Mahama o
Speaker Alban Bagbin o
Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie o
Attorney-General Dominic Ayine, MP o
President of Law Society of Kenya, Mr.
Charles Kanjama o
Prof. P. L. O. Lumumba |
|
Hosting President |
Mrs.
Efua Ghartey |
Hon.
Rockson Dafeamekpor, MP and NDC Majority Chief Whip in Parliament |
|
Other Executive Members |
§ Vice-President
– Mrs. Victoria Barth § National
Secretary – Gyawu Baffour § National
PRO – Saviour Kudzi; among others. |
Unknown |
|
Conference highlight |
Entertainment: Oobakԑ
“All white” party Old
Skuul “All blue” Jam Industry
Meets Bar “All red” Cocktail Dinner
“ All black” Dance Artistes
“All navy blue” Night[1] |
Unknown. |
|
Relevant CLE Topics to
Discuss at Conference. |
1) How to Curb GBA’s Selectivity in
Addressing Lawyers and National Issues. 2)
The Return of Deadly Tribunals &
Its implications for Justice Delivery. 3)
The Legal Ramifications of the Implementation
of the Constitutional Review Report: What to Adopt & what to Reject. 4)
The NPP Minority’s Boycott of Vetting
of CJ & SC Judges: Unwise Dereliction of Duty? 5)
Unilateral Amendment of High Court
(Civil Procedure) Rules without the Bar’s Input: Re-Setting Agenda in
Reverse? 6)
Statutory Legal Vacation cannot be overturned
by a CJ’s fiat: Why the SC got it wrong in Oppong Nkrumah v Attorney-General. |
a)
National Independent Fiscal Council
without a Female: Promotion of Women remains a mere Rhetoric? b)
Strengthening Judicial Institutions:
What Role Does the DPP Play Now? c)
Why “nolle prosequi” must be abolished: The Pros & Cons. d)
The Role of Chief Justice in a
Constitutional Democracy: Why Appointing a near- retiree was/is a Bad Idea. e)
The New Legal Education Act: Breaking
the Corrupted Monopoly of the lawyer-making Factory of Yesteryears. f)
Appointing 10 Supreme Court Judges in
less than two years: Nurturing Dangerous Majoritarian Judiciary? |
C: To MIIF, if all else fail
With
these competing scenarios attracting lawyers to attend two bar conferences in
the same month of September this year, those who find the choice difficult may
have to look elsewhere. To be honest, that choice should not pose much problem
because the Chief Justice has already cleared a fine pathway. Citizens have
been livid since learning of Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s recently-cultivated
hobby of hobnobbing. At first, it was the Ministries. Lately, it has been SOEs.
SSNIT. Then MIIF. No wonder just a day after the MIIF gaffe, President John
Mahama dissolved the governing boards of nine healthy SOEs. In the absence of
governing boards, restless VIPs who refuse to go on statutorily-earned vacation
will learn to sit at home. Or as a last resort, resort to attending funerals, beaming
with excessive smiles and taking every extended hand in a shake. (Pun not intended)
As
concerned citizens were calling out the Chief Justice for his over-familiarity
posture, others were busy rationalizing; drawing parallels with actions they
ironically previously deprecated. The first was former Chief Justice Gertrude
Torkornoo praising President Akufo-Addo at an international Judges Conference
held in Accra. The second was former Chief Justice Anin Yeboah’s reported visit
to the COCOBOD Head Office in Accra.
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Now,
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s speech pouring encomiums on the former
President may well have sounded like a pupil of Ashiedu Keteke Sub-Metro Local
Authority Junior High School reciting appellations to a President with the
accompaniment of an Okyerԑma’s talking drums at a 6th March parade.
Again, Chief Justice Anin Yeboah may well have gone to COCOBOD to reminisce on
his self-confessed kookoo-ase
antecedents. These two incidents cannot in any way serve as worthy yardstick
for measuring the actions of the current and future Chief Justices. In this
Fourth Republic, we have had Chief Justices Archer, Abban, Wiredu, Acquah,
Georgina Wood. They carried the office with gentility and poise. Those are the
standards worthy of the august office of Chief Justice.
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D: Conclusion
It is that time of the legal vacation (well, some lawyers were forced to miss it) when Bar Conference is the place to be. For the first time in the 150 years of Ghana’s adopted common law system; and for the first time since Ghana became a Republic in 1960, two different conferences are scheduled to be held by two different Bar associations. Each conference has its own attractions. For the politically-inclined, choosing to attend one and not the other will be a no brainer. But for the regular Joe or Joyce who just relishes having a beautiful time at a professional conference, the choice will be a tough one. Attending both will present the best of both worlds, but at what cost?
The
Chief Justice appears constrained to enjoy his paid vacation abroad with his
spouse since that was one of the reasons that took out his predecessor to make
way for him. Lawyers who are in two minds over the choice of Bar conference
might as well join him in his local funeral tourism. Too bad the President has
killed the SOE tourism. Such tours could always end with: ‘Please, this is
something small to see you off’. COCOBOD did great on that in the full glare of
cameras. The recipient seemed elated and pleased with his wrapped and bowed parcel.
The day such becomes the standard to beat, the nation will be done for.
