The President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Efua Ghartey, has condemned Circuit Court Judge, Samuel Bright Acquah, for referencing the remarks of a dictator in his decision to deny bail to the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe Abronye.

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In his ruling, Judge Acquah sought to justify his decision by invoking a quote he wrongly attributed to Zimbabwe’s late president, Robert Mugabe, stating; “I can assure you of freedom of speech but cannot assure you of freedom after speech.”

However, the statement is historically attributed to Idi Amin Dada, the former Ugandan military ruler (1971–1979), infamous for his dictatorial regime.

The judge also quoted from George Orwell’s Animal Farm saying; “It is always said that all persons are equal, but in practice, it is not so. Courtesy George Orwell in his book Animal Farm, one of the commandments is that all men are equal, but some are more equal than others. Translated into this case, all men are equal, but some are more equal than others."

Reacting to the judge’s remarks at the Ghana Bar Association Conference on Monday, September 15, 2025, Ghartey expressed disbelief that a judge in a constitutional and democratic country would base his ruling on the words of a dictator.

“… It (sic) belief that a judge in our constitutional dispensation, more than 30 years after the return to constitutional rule, will rely on the quote of Idi Amin Dada, the former military dictator of Uganda, and the philosophy underpinning George Orwell's book, Animal Farm, to arrive at a decision.

“Colleagues, I do not speak in a vacuum, I speak about the recent ruling given in a case in the Circuit Court Accra, a ruling which would have been roundly condemned by a cross section of Ghanaians, and it is so being done,” she said.

According to Ghartey, the country must remain vigilant at all times to maintain its democratic character and uphold its image as a constitutional state that promotes equality before the law.

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“Indeed, we have a lot of work to do, and we must constantly remain vigilant if we want to remain a constitutionally democratised country. Our country's democracy cannot be based on warped philosophy and the totalitarianism preached in the book Animal Farm. Our 1992 constitution is based on equality before the law and that should be our creed,” she added.

MAG/AE

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