GBA’s silence tacit endorsement of Dame’s conduct – ASEPA Boss

The Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson, has expressed discontent about the deafening silence of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in condemning the alleged conduct of Attorney-General Godfred Dame Yeboah.

This comes on the back of a leaked telephone conversation in which Mr Dame appears to coach Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the ongoing ambulance case, to implicate Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.

The third accused alleged in open court that Godfred Dame approached him multiple times, seeking his assistance to implicate the first accused person, Dr. Ato Forson.

Dr. Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister and current Minority Leader, has been dragged to court by the state for his alleged role in the procurement of some 200 ambulances for Ghana in the erstwhile Mahama administration.

However, Mensah Thompson, in an interview with Alfred Ocansey on 3FM on Thursday, May 30, expressed disappointment with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) for its silence on the matter.

He further argues that the A-G’s action is an embarrassment to the legal profession in Ghana and undermines the trust of international organisations that annually provide millions of dollars in support to CSOs and Government Agencies.

“It is a huge dent on the image of the entire legal profession. For advocates like ourselves who are interested in the criminal justice system who have been advocating for a number of reforms in our justice administration system, we see this evidence coming out as a huge dent on the image of the country.

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Moreover, Mr Mesah accused the Attorney-General of witness tampering, a breach of the ethical standards of the legal profession.

“Legal profession takes its ethics very seriously, it is one of the professions that does not joke with its standards. So for the Attorney-General to be violating the entire standard, it projects onto the general Bar and that is why it is important for the [Ghana] Bar Association to come out and condemn the conduct of the Attorney-General and dissociate itself.”

Additionally, Mr Mensah underscored, “The silence of the Ghana Bar Association now is deafening, it is a tacit endorsement of the conduct of Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame and if the Bar doesn’t come out, their inaction will be seen as an endorsement by the public.”

 

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