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Tag: Ghana Bar

  • Sammi Awuku, Shirly Ayorkor Botchwey called to the Bar

    Sammi Awuku, Shirly Ayorkor Botchwey called to the Bar

    The General Legal Council is in the process of enrolling new lawyers as members of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) for the year 2023/2024.

    Among the distinguished individuals embarking on their legal careers are the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) of Ghana, Sammi Awuku, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.

    This significant development was officially announced through various social media platforms.

    A post shared by The New TESCON Informant showcases a photograph of Sammi Awuku, accompanied by a caption that reads: “Years of dedicated effort, long hours of lectures, countless sleepless nights, engaging in extensive group discussions, and devouring volumes of legal literature have culminated in this moment. Congratulations to Lawyer Sammi Awuku.”

    In a separate social media post, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, shared a photograph along with the caption: “Grateful and thankful 🙏🏽.”

    Numerous individuals on various online platforms have conveyed their heartfelt congratulations and well-wishes to the duo.

    A total of 900 individuals from the 2023 batch have received approval from the Independent Examination Committee of the General Legal Council.

    This group comprises 499 students who had previously faced denial of admission to the Ghana School of Law two years ago. However, they were subsequently granted admission following a series of protests and appeals.

    Following the release of the results, Odupong Agyapong Atta-Agyapong, the immediate past SRC president of the Ghana School of Law, spoke to the media about the significance of this year’s call to the bar ceremony.

    “It’s exciting to witness the reactions of students on their WhatsApp pages and statuses,” he remarked. “For the first time, we are going to have over 900 students called to the Ghana bar. This is quite historic, given the events of the past.”

    Atta-Agyapong offered encouragement to students who did not make it onto the list, urging them to maintain their determination and strive to be called in the mini-call scheduled for March next year.

    “It’s not the end of the road,” he emphasized. “We have a mini-call, and it’s expected that next year these students will be offered the opportunity to sit for the supplementary exams, and when they are successful, they will be called.”

    He further reiterated his encouragement to those students who did not find their names on the list to persevere and aim for inclusion in the upcoming mini-call scheduled for March next year.

  • Ghana School of Law’s former SRC Prez, Wonder Kutor, called to the Bar

    Ghana School of Law’s former SRC Prez, Wonder Kutor, called to the Bar

    Wonder Victor Kutor, the recent-past president of the Ghana School of Law’s Students Representative Council (SRC), has been admitted to the Ghana Bar.

    At a ceremony on the morning of Friday, April 5, 2023, the 196 graduates, including him, were called to the bar by the departing Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.

    Following the controversy surrounding his call, which he had missed out on in 2022 because he couldn’t finish his internship related to his studies at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, this ceremony was held.

    Wonder Kutor successfully completed his internship in January, having returned from his studies at the University of North Florida.

    He was presented with his certificate to practice as a lawyer from Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, amid cheers from the gathering.

    Kwasi Anin Yeboah retires officially on May 24, 2023, making this the last ceremony he would oversee as the country’s CJ.

    Interestingly, this ceremony recorded the call of two former presidents of the SRC of the Ghana School of Law to the Ghana Bar.

    The other person, apart from Wonder Kutor, was Philemon Laar, who was the SRC president for the 2020/2021 academic year.


    Wonder Victor Kutor (left) with a colleague

    Kutor currently serves on the National Executive Committee of the National Democratic Congress, having been elected at the party’s congress on December 17, 2022.

    His election as a NEC member has since seen him playing the role of a Secretary of the Appeals Committee (Bono/Ahafo Regions) of the parliamentary primaries of the party, which comes off on May 13, 2023.

    A former student of the Tema Day Secondary School, the 29-year-old also attended the University of Ghana, and continued to the University of London before enrolling at the Ghana School of Law.

    He is currently a student of the University of North Florida.

  • Look for a top lawyer, renowned man of God to plead for you – Maurice Ampaw tells Ama Governor

    A private legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw, has advised YouTuber Elorm Ababio, a.k.a Ama Governor, to show some remorse for her actions on social media if she intends to be called to the Ghana Bar.

    Speaking in a Neat FM monitored by GhanaWeb, lawyer Ampaw said that defenders of Ama Governor should urge her to change her behaviour rather than threatening to demonstrate because their demonstration will change nothing.

    He added that Ama Governor should go before the General Legal Council (GLC) with one of the nation’s top lawyers and a clergyman who will plead for the blockade on her call to the Bar to be lifted.

    “You can enjoy your life, but you have to enjoy it in the quiet. You can’t be living an I don’t care life because it is your life. Who told you it is your life? Whatever you do affects somebody else.

    “Let me advise Ama Governor and all those who are insulting the Council that they are not helping the girl. I also advise the girl to stop social media stuff. The matter is now soft speaking; it is before the Council.

    “What she should be doing now is to be looking for an experienced lawyer, who has practised for about 30 to 50 years and a Christian clergy who is respected in the country from the orthodox churches… The man of God will plead on her behalf when they go before the Council… the law should also convince that counsel that s/he will mentor her… that is the only way the Council will lift the ban on her,” he said in Twi.

    Elorm Ababio, a student who just completed the Ghana School of Law (GSL), will not be called to the Ghana Bar due to a petition filed against her by a “concerned citizen”.

    The complaint, according to the letter signed by Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA, Secretary, General Legal Council (GLC), stated that Ama Governor is seen in widely circulated videos engaging in what it describes as “conduct unbecoming of an applicant to be called to the Bar”.

    The complainant, the GLC Secretary, indicated also submitted a flash drive [pen drive] which contains selected video files and hyperlinks of Ama Governor to relevant website publications.

    Ama Governor’s conduct is said to violate Regulation 21(c) of the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-call Law Course) Regulations, 2018 L.I. 2355.

    The said regulation states: “A student of the school qualifies to be called to the Bar if that student has […] (c) satisfied the Council that the student is of good character.”

    The Council, as Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA said, had thus decided:

    “1. To constitute a three-member Committee to investigate the complaint and advise Council accordingly.

    “2. To suspend the decision to call you [Ama Governor] to the Bar pending the outcome of the investigation.

    “I have been directed by the Chairperson of the General Legal Council to inform you of this matter and to advise you to expect to be contacted by the Committee in due course.”

    “You will be given a fair hearing on the complaint before a decision is arrived at,” Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA’s letter dated November 3 concluded.

     

  • ‘Justice for Ama Governor’ online petition to General Legal Council gathers storm

    Some Ghanaians on social media have launched an online petition targeted at the General Legal Council (GLC).

    The move is in protest of the suspension of the call to the Ghana Bar of Elorm Ababio, popularly known as Ama Governor on social media.

    The lawyer-in-waiting, who is also a YouTuber, is being denied the Car call despite her successful completion of the professional law program, that is passing her exams and scaling the interview session as well.

    The petition dubbed ‘Justice for Ama Governor’ has been published to gather signatures.

    Ama Governor reportedly received a letter dated November 3, from the Secretary to the General Legal Council, Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA, informing her of the suspension because a complaint filed by a “concerned citizen”.

    The GLC indicated that the complaint by this “concerned citizen” alleged that Ama Governor is seen in widely circulated videos engaging in what it describes as “conduct unbecoming of an applicant to be called to the Bar”.

    The Complainant, the GLC Secretary indicated, also submitted a flash drive [pen drive] which contains selected video files and hyperlinks of Ama Governor to relevant website publications.

    Ama Governor’s conduct is said to violate Regulation 21 (c) of the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-call Law Course) Regulations, 2018 L.I. 2355.

    The said Regulation states: “A student of the school qualifies to be called to the Bar, if that student has […] (c) satisfied the Council that the student is of good character.”

    Barely a few days after the suspension was communicated, an online petition circulating on various social media platforms has already generated 8,982 signatures out of the 9,000 targeted.

  • Details of why Ghanaian YouTuber’s call to the Bar is on hold

    Elorm Ababio, a student who just completed the Ghana School of Law (GSL) will not be called to the Ghana Bar due to a petition filed against her by a “concerned citizen”.

    Known popularly on YouTube as Ama Governor, the complaint, according to a letter signed by Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA, Secretary, Ghana Legal Council (GLC), stated that Ama Governor is seen in widely circulated videos engaging in what it describes as “conduct unbecoming of an applicant to be called to the Bar”.

    The Complainant, the GLC Secretary indicated, also submitted a flash drive [pen drive] which contains selected video files and hyperlinks of Ama Governor to relevant website publications.

    Ama Governor’s conduct is said to violate Regulation 21(c) of the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-call Law Course) Regulations, 2018 L.I. 2355.

    The said Regulation states: “A student of the school qualifies to be called to the Bar, if that student has […] (c) satisfied the Council that the student is of good character.”

    The Council, Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA said had thus decided:

    “1. To constitute a three-member Committee to investigate the complaint and advise Council accordingly.

    “2. To suspend the decision to call you [Ama Governor] to the Bar pending the outcome of the investigation.

    “I have been directed by the Chairperson of the General Legal Council to inform you of this matter and to advise you to expect to be contacted by the Committee in due course.”

    “You will be given a fair hearing on the complaint before a decision is arrived at,” Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo JA’s letter dated November 3, concluded.

    The Ghana School of Law is set to call over 700 students to join the Ghana Bar Association on Friday, November 11, 2022, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

    As part of the criteria, prospective students who wish to join the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) are to lead an exemplary life by maintaining a good character.

    Meanwhile, since the news broke on Wednesday, an online petition has been launched to gather signatories in a quest to obtain ‘justice’ for the Ghanaian law student and YouTuber.

    The campaign was created by Pyrex House and is addressed to the Ghana Legal Council.