Silence of GBA on AG’s leaked tape worrying – ASEPA
The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has described the silence of the Ghana Bar Association on the leaked tape involving the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame as worrying.
According to ASEPA, over 48 hours after the National Democratic Congress released what it described as incontrovertible evidence confirming a witness tampering allegation against the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Ghana, the GBA has not released a statement either condemning or dissociating itself from the conduct of the Attorney General who is the head of Bar.
ASEPA noted that in the not so distant past, the Bar Association has commented on issues that are of far less implication for the criminal justice system than the current embarrassing spectacle brewing from the AG’s own pot.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Mensah Thompson, ASEPA said “as a human rights organization that have been advocating for serious reforms in our criminal justice system and promoting judicial accountability, social justice and judicial equity have been scandalized by the conduct of the Attorney General.
“For an Attorney General and a Minister of Justice to be caught on tape, deliberately and viciously coaching a witness to adduce false evidence to ascertain a wrongful conviction of a possible innocent accused person in a trial is an ominous dagger in the heart of the very role of a Minister of Justice.”
It added: “We are therefore adding our voice to the many voices calling on the AG to resign or be sacked by the President, a touted human rights lawyer who claims has fought on the side of people on the other side of the AG’s vicious venom. Even more worrying than the conduct of the Attorney General, is the silence of the Ghana Bar Association and the Presidency, reducing this troubling development to a banter between the two main political parties.”
ASEPA said as a CSO it is aware of the millions of dollars international organizations spend in Ghana every year to support CSOs and Governmental Agencies to promote social equality, prevent human rights violations and promote justice delivery.
“The AG’s conduct has therefore undermined the steady progress we have made in these areas of key interest to our development partners and the international community at large and therefore deserves nothing but utter condemnation from all including the Bar Association and other Stakeholders of the Judiciary.
“It will be a further dent on the image of the Country if the Bar Association never finds its often skewed ruthless voice in this ongoing spectacle, everyone is watching!,” the stated added.
