Maurice Ampaw on ‘Know Your Right’ tour

Popular Ghanaian lawyer, Maurice Ampaw, has embarked on a self-sponsored civic and legal education campaign across Ghana as a social responsibility gesture to mark his 15th anniversary as a lawyer.

The campaign will have the lawyer moving across at 275 constituencies in the country, during which he will hold symposia and interactive discussions with various interest groups to give them some legal education on their rights as citizens of Ghana, including political rights, civic rights and what the law states on issues of marriage, basic tenancy and contractual agreements, educational rights and even the rights of prisoners.

“Everyone has a right to know his or her rights but most people do not know their rights and, therefore, they get exploited or abused by a few who know. How can you hold your district or municipal chief executive accountable when you do not even know your basic rights in that locality or how can you access the performance of your Member of Parliament so as to retain or vote out the persons when you the citizen do not understand your rights as a constituent and the responsibilities of your MP? It is sad and I intend to give some free legal education and consultancy to correct this anomaly,” Maurice Ampaw told NEWS-ONE.

The next constituency Maurice Ampaw will be visiting is the Abuakwa North in the Eastern Region.

The celebrity lawyer said his 15 years of legal practice has helped him to understand that most Ghanaians do not even understand their basic fundamental human rights and, therefore, live like slaves.

“Your MP cannot take you for granted if you know your rights. Go through our prisons and see the living conditions of the prisoners and even suspects on remand and they are living like slaves and not human beings.

These prisoners have basic human rights and privileges they have to enjoy. As a country, as a people, we have overlooked the issues of human rights for too long a time and sadly, the world is watching unconcerned.

Even children have a lot of rights we have to let them know about and this is what I would be doing to give back to society after I was called to the Bar in 2001, exactly 15 years ago,” Maurice Ampaw explained.

The popular lawyer explained that “I have lectured for all these years in five different tertiary institutions. I lecture Business Law, Company Law and Media Law. I lecture at the Central University, All Nations University, Meridian Pre-University, Trans-Africa College, Regent University and I did a little bit of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I have students in most media houses across the country and they are doing very well.

“I go to court on a daily basis and win more cases. I used to have my own Chamber; M.K. Ampaw &Co. Then, I decided to merge with my partner, Lawyer Ahmed. So now, we have the Ahmed Legal Consult at the Spintex Road near the Stanbic Bank. But my legal advocacy foundation is right behind Radio Gold at Lartebiokoshie,” Maurice Ampaw added.