It is a colonial mentality to equate formal dressing to suits - Ransford Gyampo

Professor Ransford Gyampo, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, has wondered why one of the judges in the ongoing 2020 Election Petition had cause to question the dressing style of Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, the NDC’s second witness on the case.

Dr. Kpessa-Whyte appeared in court not wearing a suit and one of the judges had cause to comment on his dressing, wondering why he did not choose to wear a suit to the sitting.

Dr. Kpessa-Whyte wore a black short-sleeved shirt, over a matching black trouser for his appearance in the chamber on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, but one of the Justices of the Supreme Court wished he wore something more 'formal'.

But, that did not quite go down well with the university lecturer, who, in a Facebook post, played down the seemingly light-sided tone of the judge's comments, stating that such ideologies equate to a colonial mentality.

"I believe we must rethink our colonial mentality that sees formal dressing as suits," he wrote.

He rather wished that there would come a time when a leader of this country would religiously influence a unique Ghanaian style of dressing, just as former president, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings exemplified so well in his lifetime.

"I am looking forward to a leader who would help us institutionalize our own way of dressing. Rawlings tried and Akufo-Addo may be doing same, just that their efforts haven’t impacted all our public sectors.

“No nation anywhere in the world develops without its own culture, and culture is simply a way a group of people live, including how they dress,” he stated.

The comments, which clearly appeared to be in response to what happened earlier in the day at the Supreme Court, explained further, why what seemed like a comment made on a light note, should not quite be so.

“It was on a lighter note, but not all of us are happy with this joke. What did the judge mean by 'we are raising the status of lecturers'? Are lecturers who teach people to become judges that low in status? With respect, and in all humility, it is the case that some lecturers have better statuses than some judges," he wondered.