Akufo-Addo’s lawyer carries his bag after public backlash

Spokesperson for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2020 presidential election petition before the Supreme Court, Frank Davies, courted public criticism when a picture of him followed by a soldier carrying his bag at the apex court surfaced online.

To many, the decision by the president’s lawyer to let a military officer carry his bag while he went about his duties at the Supreme Court was an abuse of power.

In the words of a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, “it is not the duty of any soldier to be carrying the bag of any private legal practitioner to court. Defending the territorial integrity of any country does not include body-guarding civilian appointees.

These gestures demoralize the police and cause their public disrespect. If we think the police is weak and can no longer offer such services as providing security for appointees and private people, the way to go is to strengthen them and check how we recruit people there.

We have no business ‘civilianizing’ our soldiers. It would come back to haunt us.”

In a Facebook post, the senior lecturer adds that “the attempt to turn soldiers into errand boys of civilian appointees, private citizens and ‘small boy magicians’ parading as pastors, should be a monumental shame to any professional Army Commander whose appointment was based on meritocracy”.

The sentiments of Mr Gyampo have been shared by many who have taken to various social media websites to air their misgivings.

Following the picture of Mr Davies and the military officer going viral, a subsequent picture of him has emerged this time with him carrying the bag without the help or company of any officer.

Unlike the initial image in which the legal practitioner had only his wig in his hand, the second image as sighted by GhanaWeb has his hands full as he is seen carrying the bag in his right-hand whiles his left hand had his wig and some documents which hitherto was carried by the military officer.

See the images below: