Election Petition: GBA intervenes on behalf of three NDC lawyers hauled before GLC disciplinary committee

Anthony Forson Jnr., the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), has disclosed that the GBA members serving on the General Legal Council (GLC) had to intervene on behalf of three lawyers hauled before the Council’s disciplinary committee over comments they made during the 2020 Election Petition trial.

Dr Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba, David Annan and Abraham Amaliba, who were part of the National Democratic Congress’s legal team, were hauled before the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council for making statements that did not go down well with the legal fraternity.

In Asaase Radio reportage monitored by GhanaWeb, Forson, who was speaking at the 2021 legal year Bench, Bar and Faculty conference under the theme “Professional Development in a Virtual World – Emerging Trends and Best Practices”, said, the GLC accepted the intervention on behalf of the three lawyers and pardoned them.

“In the aftermath of the 2020 elections and during the just-ended election petition, some lawyers, unfortunately, made statements that did not go down well with the generality of the legal fraternity and indeed a former Deputy Attorney General had to appear before the Supreme Court on a contempt charge, Forson said, referencing Dr. Dominic Ayine’s case.

“Indeed, three others; David Annan, Abraham Amaliba and Dr Baasit, were also hauled before the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council, but the Bar representative on the General Legal Council made an intervention for clemency which was supported by his Lordship the Chief Justice,” the Bar President said.

“Led by myself and the former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, we appeared before the Disciplinary Committee chaired by his Lordship, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, and after written apologies, we were advised to remember that in every situation we find ourselves, we should always act in ways which uphold the dignity of the profession,” Forson Jnr. added.

“A healthy relationship between the Bench, Bar and Faculty is a sine qua non [or condition necessary], for the growth of the profession and the confidence of the society in the legal system” the GBA President noted.