‘It’s unfortunate and we condemn him’ — GBA chides Akufo-Addo for using its platform for campaign

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has expressed its strong disapproval of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's use of its conference platform to throw jabs at former President John Mahama.

Saviour Kudze, the GBA's Public Relations Officer, conveyed the association's stance, saying, "What the president said today is rather unfortunate and we condemn it. The aspect we condemn has to do with his appeal to Ghanaians, essentially campaigning, urging them to vote against Mahama simply because he commented on President Akufo-Addo allegedly appointing NPP-aligned judges, as stated by President Mahama."

Speaking during an interview on Citi FM monitored by ModernGhana News, Mr Kudze further elaborated, "And also bringing up the issue of the investigations allegedly linking former President Mahama to the Airbus scandal. Our platform is not supposed to be used for that, and then we condemn that aspect of President Akufo-Addo’s comment."

“We are not going to allow anybody to use our platform to campaign politically for or against any opponent,” he said.

Earlier in the week, President Akufo-Addo strongly criticized Mr Mahama for his recent allegations concerning the judiciary being filled with judges aligned with the ruling NPP party.

Akufo-Addo described Mahama’s comments as "very dangerous" and contended that they constituted a "brazen attack on the independence of the judiciary."

In reaction, the GBA stated that while they shared Akufo-Addo’s concerns about the independence of the judiciary, they did not endorse his approach to addressing the issue.

"The GBA believes that the best way to protect the independence of the judiciary is to ensure that all politicians, regardless of their party affiliation, respect the rule of law and the separation of powers," its statement emphasized.

The association further called upon all politicians to do away with political statements during its conferences and uphold the impartiality of the legal profession.