'I’m not a lazy lawyer; I'm not running away' – 'Vacation lawyer' Atta Akyea defends court absence

Lawyer for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) boss Kwabena Adu-Boahen, Samuel Atta Akyea, has defended his decision not to appear in court during the legal vacation, insisting that his absence is aimed at preserving established judicial practice.

Mr Atta Akyea argued that the legal vacation is recognised under Ghana’s rules of court and that lawyers should not ordinarily be compelled to appear for part-heard cases during the period unless circumstances justify the Chief Justice scheduling such matters.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, August 11, he cited Order 79 of C.I. 47, which empowers the Chief Justice to appoint days, including during the legal vacation, for the hearing of cases where circumstances require.

He maintained, however, that the provision was primarily intended to deal with urgent matters and questioned why some part-heard criminal cases should be prioritised during the vacation while other serious criminal cases remain pending.

“The circumstances that require that we should work in vacation relate to emergency cases. I’ve done this job for over 32 years and I’ve not seen that the Chief Justice will pencil a part-heard case in the vacation and impose a warrant on the judge to hear a particular part-heard case and also expect that the lawyers who are supposed to be on vacation should go and adjudicate the case,” he said.

His comments come amid concerns raised by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) over directives requiring some lawyers to appear before designated judges during the legal vacation to continue with ongoing cases.

Mr Atta Akyea argued that the principle should be applied consistently across the justice system, questioning why judges handling other serious criminal cases should be permitted to take a break while those hearing part-heard cases are required to continue sitting.

“What about the rest of the murder cases in the realm? Manslaughter cases, rape cases, are these criminal cases of no consequence to the state?” he asked.

He rejected suggestions that his decision to stay away from court was intended to delay proceedings or avoid his professional responsibilities.

“I'm not a lazy lawyer. I'm not running away from a criminal case. I've done more serious criminal cases than what I'm going through. We are trying to uphold the practice at the Bench and also the practice that we expect the Chief Justice to respect. The judges should, as well as the lawyers,” he said.

The dispute follows a directive by the Presiding Judge, Justice Francis Achibonga, that former NSB boss Kwabena Adu-Boahen and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, could be required to continue the cross-examination of Prosecution Witness 4 if their lawyer fails to appear at the next sitting.

The directive was issued after Mr Atta Akyea was absent from court on Tuesday, August 11, during the ongoing proceedings.