Lawyer Accuses GBA Prez of Rape

The President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Anthony Forson has been accused of rape. Kuukuwa Andam claims Mr. Forson pinned her down and forcefully had sex with her when she was not ready in the United States of America in 2012.

Ms Andam in a detailed post on Facebook of what transpired between her and Mr Forson said although they had agreed to meet and have the affair, circumstances prior to the meeting left her upset and unprepared for the act.

She started a relationship with Mr Forson in Ghana when she was called to the Bar before she travelled to the US to pursue her graduate degree at the Cornell University in New York.

According to her, although they were in an intimate relationship and did everything regular couples did, but they never had sex.

“We could kiss, touch and do other stuff,” she said.

She, however, faced hard times during the pursuit of her studies. While her tuition fee was being catered for through funding, Ms Andam said she struggled to pay other living expenses.

At a point, she could not pay for her rent and when she asked for help from a relative, “ he [relative] told me if he gave me the money I wouldn't pay back. That was the day I realised I was on my own.

“I worked as a cook in a cafeteria and would stand for hours. I worked as a cleaner. I would be so tired I would sleep during lectures. Eventually, I decided to contact Tony for money,” she said.

Mr Forson, according to her, agreed to pay for the rent and the ‘couple’ agreed to meet at hotel in Washington DC where she would take the money.

“At this time we had not actually had sex but I told myself that I would just close my eyes and do it with a condom - because I knew he was sleeping with many women - and then at least I wouldn't have to drop out of school.”

But Ms Andam lost her laptop to the taxi that transported her to the venue and “arrived at the hotel crying my eyes out. All my lecture notes were on that laptop and losing it meant I would fail the exams.”

However, Mr Forson didn’t care about her plight, she said.

“As soon as I settled in, he asked for sex. I had already psyched myself up and so I asked him whether he had a condom. When he said no, I pleaded with him to allow me to at least go get a condom but he pinned me down and raped me.

“I still remember how it felt to be forcefully penetrated by him. How I felt as if I had left my body and was watching everything happening form the ceiling. I have heard from other rape survivors that this is a common occurrence,” she added.

Ms Andam said she was visibly in pain, “I wasn't ready and he had forced himself on me but that didn't stop him. Not even the tears that began to fall out of my eyes stopped him.”

She says she has filed a criminal complaint at with the Washington DC Police Department and once that is cleared, charges will be filed against Mr Forson.

She hopes that making the issue public will save other Ghanaian female lawyers from people like Mr Forson.

But Mr Forson has denied the allegations.

Lawyers for Mr Forson say their client “sincerely and emphatically denies that he has committed any such offence against Miss Kuukuwa Andam .

“He maintains that the allegations are palpably false and in due course will be vindicated,” a press release issued by the lawyers’ counsels stated.

---Myjoyonline