Agbodza directs GBA president to listen to Dormaahene's legal critique

Minority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza, has taken a swipe at President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Yaw Acheampong Boafo.

Agbodza has been engaged in a public spat with the GBA president over the MP's evaluation of the tenure of the immediate past Chief Justice as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unfortunate’.

In his latest jibe, he referred Boafo to two pronouncements made by public figures about the judiciary, asking him to take note of the particular comments.

The most recent is of the Dormaahene's call for the state to file a nolle prosequi in the Assin North Member of Parliament James Gyakye Quayson's criminal trial before an Accra High Court.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II also stated that if he was on the Supreme Court panel that ruled on the case that ousted Quayson as MP, he would have dissented.

Agbodza, on July 2, tweeted a video of the Dormaahene's comments at a 10th anniversary lecture of former president John Evans Atta Mills and captioned it: "Mr Yao Boafo, please pay attention to this also…"

A day prior, he had posted another video critically assessing the judiciary, where a respected clergyman expressed worry about the eroding confidence of the populace in the courts.

He captioned it thus: "Am sure Mr Yao Boafo will say something about this one also….over to him…"

Mr Yao Boafo, please pay attention to this also… pic.twitter.com/ppIDf6ambc

— kwame agbodza (@KAgbodza) July 2, 2023

Agbodza after the GBA president's critique over the tenure of the former CJ, stated that the GBA chief does not know the operations of Parliament and cannot determine what members comment on or not.

“Mr Yaw Boafo does not have enough understanding on the way Parliament works,” Mr Agbodza fired.

“When we are vetting people, we want to know the person that is going to occupy a particular position. Mr Yaw Boafo should be concerned about the CDD report in 2020 that said very uncharitable things about the perception of Ghanaians about the judiciary,” he added.

The legislator for Adaklu maintained his position and revealed that some senior lawyers in the country also share same sentiments and concern.

On the 41st anniversary of Martyrs Day, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) was worried over the recent attacks and public criticisms of justices of the courts over judgement deemed unfavourable, especially by public figures and persons in authority.

He made an example of the evaluation of the tenure of the immediate past Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah by Kwame Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip.

“Hiding behind political interests to only ridicule and politicise judgements but not from the angle of legal, scholarly and constitutional appraisal of their decisions unfairly and inappropriately lowers the dignity of our courts and hurt the rule of law,” he said on Friday, June 30.

He added, “That is why it is totally unacceptable for a member of the leadership of the Minority in Parliament, hiding ostensibly under the protection of Parliamentary immunity granted by the 1992 Constitution, in supporting a motion solely to unanimously approve the nomination of the current Chief Justice to launch an unwarranted attack on the person of the immediate past Chief Justice describing such a colossus of a jurist in derogatory terms.”