CJ Suspension: Ghana Bar Association doing NPP's bidding – Abraham Amaliba claims

Private legal practitioner Abraham Amaliba has criticised the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), suggesting it is acting in the interest of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) following its recent comments on the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo.

President John Mahama suspended the Chief Justice on April 22, 2025, invoking Article 146(6) of the 1992 Constitution after a prima facie case was established based on three separate petitions submitted against her.

The suspension followed consultations with the Council of State, as required by the constitution.

In its response, the GBA emphasised the need to uphold constitutional principles during the proceedings.

The Association’s President, Efua Ghartey, at the mid-year conference, called on members to closely monitor the developments to ensure justice is done and seen to be done.

She also described the process as unprecedented and urged the Bar to play a proactive role in public education on the matter.

However, speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Amaliba expressed disappointment in the GBA’s position, accusing it of abandoning its impartial role in national matters.

He added that the Bar has historically been critical only when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in power, implying that the current stance reflects political bias.

Amaliba further questioned the inconsistency in the Association’s messaging.

According to him, the Association urged members to exercise patience and monitor the process keenly.

He said, “I described that statement as one of the most forward-looking statements in the last 20 years of the Bar Association’s history because for the first time you saw a bar that is not taking sides, you saw a bar that is sticking to the rules and you saw a bar that is restraining lawyers from making comments that would detract from the process. So I described it as one of the forward-looking but now this is a case of what I would term as habits once cultivated are difficult to discard.

"Don’t forget that a bar is always critical when the NDC is in power and I thought that the earlier statement meant that they had shed off that accolade not knowing that they will come back to their former selves.”

“This is a case of a bar that wants to continue in its habits so I am not surprised but I thought that it would have departed from that line of behaviour. If you look at their resolution they seem not to be talking about law. I’ve not seen them quote any provision in the law that stipulates that the president has violated the provisions of the Constitution and so you can see a bar that is under pressure to do the bidding of the NPP and so but I’m happy the bar is becoming a more bond association so their comments no longer carry weight so I’m not bored.”

Amaliba added, “Yes so I’m also making these comments from what is available within the public domain which is that they are urging President Mahama to do this and that. When in their earlier statement they asked all of us to await the final outcome. Now the question is what has changed such that we no longer want to wait for the final outcome. It betrays their mindset. It puts them in bad light. It makes them look you know an association that can be tossed around so after the bar it’s no longer an association that speaks for the voiceless so once it is no longer that way I have shut my ears at whatever they do.”