The Legal Affairs Directorate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken on the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, for his “unjustified outburst” against former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to the Directorate, the action by the Minister confirms suspicions its members harboured about his competence.
In a statement issued by Legal Affairs Director Abraham Amaliba on Tuesday, September 13, the party said it has now become clear that Mr Dame’s partisanship and bias as a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is not in doubt.
“Sometimes, Mr. Dame speaks like a typical NPP foot soldier other than a lawyer and for that matter the Attorney-General,” the statement accused.
This comes in the wake of comments made by the Minister of Justice at the 2022/23 Annual Bar Conference held in the Volta Region capital of Ho on Monday, September 12.
The Minister had questioned the former president’s “unwarranted” attacks against the judiciary, wondering how “a person who has occupied the highest office of state, that is the former President” could attack “the integrity of Ghana’s Judiciary”.
“I observe that this was the latest instalment of systematic attack by the former President, albeit unjustified,” Mr Yeboah Dame told members of the Ghana Bar Association.
But the NDC lawyers say even the choice of the Conference to make such pronouncements “is rather disrespectful to lawyers and the legal profession to say the least”.
The main contention has to do with the 2020 unanimous dismissal of the election petition filed by NDC’s Presidential Candidate.
The Directorate said the Attorney General’s appreciation of the key issues in the 2020 election petition “is not only pedestrian but pathetic”.
“It is rather curious that the Attorney-General’s appreciation of the election petition was on ‘wrong aggregation of votes’ and ‘vote padding’. We wish to encourage Mr. Dame to go back and read the petition again.”
The statement earlier noted: “Mr. Dame’s unjustified outburst is characteristic of the arrogant posturing of his boss, Nana Akufo-Addo and his failing government that is allergic to divergent views and opinions on national issues.
“We are not surprised because, many citizens who have been critical of the Akufo-Addo’s government have suffered one form of attack or another from this intolerant government.”
Already, President Akufo-Addo has called on well-meaning Ghanaians to ignore calls made by persons against some key state institutions when they had lost cases.
“It is important that all of us, especially us lawyers, who cherish the democracy we are building, say no to such persons, and guard jealously our democratic way of life, which we have done so much to bring into being. Independent judges, administering the law, protecting the human rights of citizens, and ensuring public accountability, are strong pillars of our democracy.”
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana