Afenyo-Markin’s attack on Circuit Court Judge unprofessional — GBA

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has strongly condemned comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin regarding a Circuit Court judge handling the case involving Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC.

The Association described the remarks as unprofessional and unethical, stressing that they fall short of the standards expected of a senior member of the legal profession.

Speaking on the issue, GBA spokesperson Saviour Kudze said the conduct of the Minority Leader, who is also a senior lawyer and a traditional leader, was unbecoming of someone of his standing at the Bar.

“It is very unpalatable, unbecoming of a senior lawyer of his standing at the Bar, particularly so a senior lawyer who is privileged enough to be the Minority Leader of the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, a lawyer who I am told is also a chief. Is this the kind of example he wants to give his constituents?” he stated.

His comments follow a press conference held by Mr. Afenyo-Markin on Sunday, May 17, during which he criticised the judge over the continued remand of Abronye DC and stated that he would continue to “disrespect” the judge until he “upholds the law.”

The Minority Leader also questioned the competence of the judge and challenged him to cite him for contempt, remarks that have generated significant public debate.

Reacting to the controversy, Mr. Kudze stated that if the Minority Leader believed the court had acted wrongly, the appropriate legal avenue was to pursue an appeal rather than publicly attack the judge.

“As a lawyer, if his complaint is that a judge has acted in a way according to him not within the ambit of the law, this is not the way I think that he should go, especially somebody like him,” he explained.

“My thinking is that the appellate system is not there for fun. If the judge didn’t act within his jurisdiction, he knew what to do. He shouldn’t go to the press, not at all.”

He further accused the Minority Leader of breaching professional ethics by questioning the judge’s competence and qualifications in public.

“We are disappointed, and he has acted very unprofessionally and unethically because, per our etiquette rules, we don’t do things like this by attacking the qualifications or competence of a judge,” he added.

The matter comes amid ongoing public discourse surrounding the remand of Abronye DC, who is currently under investigation for alleged misinformation and offensive public statements.