Former Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atubiga, has slammed the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) over its posturing on national issues.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse, aired on May 8, 2025, the retired Supreme Court judge asserted that the posturing of the GBA shows a trend of it speaking on national issues only when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in power.

He added that since the era of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the Bar Association, which used to be very powerful, began to lose its voice.

“You can just see a certain pattern. The Bar Association was tough some years ago, tough… Look at their performance from, I think, Kufuor’s time, they started muting their voices.

“Since that time, now when NDC comes to power, hey, you hear them again. These things happen. I'm not creating them… I'm just scanning the facts as they have occurred. You try to do this and see whether you would not arrive at the same conclusion I have arrived at,” he said.

Justice Atubiga mentioned that, although he had pointed out this issue to the GBA in the past, he was heavily criticised by some of its members.

He added that he will continue to speak the truth no matter the political party it affects.

“Let me tell you, in 2015 or thereabouts, the then Chief Judge, Georgina Woode, made me represent the Law Week celebrations of the University of Ghana… and in my lecture I made a comment that the Bar Association appeared to be moved to comment on national issues according to their political colouration. Before we even finished the event… Frank Davis was on air, chastising me so and so and so.

“Look, these sorts of things… I'm a different person. I want to emphasise that I don't have time for pretence. And I'm not like that. Whether you are NDC or NPP, if you are right, yes, I'll support it. If you are not, your political colour means nothing to me,” he said.

The GBA was heavily criticised by a section of the public after it demanded that President John Dramani Mahama reverse the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, saying it was unconstitutional.

BAI/MA

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