A Teacher has filed a complaint with the General Legal Council (GLC), the body that regulates legal education and upholds standards of the professional conduct and discipline of lawyers in the Ghana, to strike out the name of Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor from the roll of lawyers in the country.
It follows threats by the lawyer, who is currently undertaking a PhD programme at the Cambridge University in UK, to stage a coup if the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) which is currently before Parliament is passed into law.
Some of the comments and declarations of Barker-Vormawor, who prides himself as Osagyefo, includes threats on his social media wall that “if this useless e-levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will declare the coup myself. Useless army” (posted on February 9, 2022). “Neho! I welcome the news of a military coup in Guinea. Still waiting on confirmation of its success. Hopefully, a new transition process is put in place quickly. Guinea shall work again” (posted on September 5, 2021).
“I welcome news of the ongoing coup by the junior ranks just next door in Burkina Faso. I wish the young coup makers all the best in their struggle” (posted on January 24, 2022).
“I welcome the news of an ongoing coup in Guinea Bissau. I want to remind all that in Ghanaian Constitutional Law only successful coups are legal” (posted on February 1, 2022) and “Year of coups” (posted on February 1, 2022).
In a complaint dated Tuesday, February 15, 2022 addressed to the Chairman of the General Legal Council and copied to the Chief Justice, Judicial Secretary and National President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the petitioner Vance Adedze said he has the duty and responsibility as a citizen to at all times defend the constitution and the laws of the Republic of Ghana.
He attached the various Facebook posts made by the beleaguered lawyer who has been remanded into police custody by an Ashaiman court.
According to the petitioner, under rule 1 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423), a lawyer is under a duty at all times to uphold the dignity and high standing of the legal profession and his own dignity and high standing as a member of the legal profession.
He said the conduct of Barker-Vormawor falls below rule 1 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423).
“Mr Barker-Vormawor has a duty to uphold, protect, preserve and defend the Constitution and Laws of the Republic of Ghana rather than advocating publicly for the overthrow of the Constitution by way of a coup d’état.”
The complainant stated that “due to the timing and circumstances, Mr. Barker-Vormawor’s public statements and declarations cannot be treated lightly, given the fact that there have been three successful coup d’états in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and one unsuccessful coup d’état in Guinea Bissau, all within the last twenty four months.”
He said the lawyer’s conduct has been widely condemned by Ghanaians, and also added that the One Ghana Movement in condemning in no uncertain terms the publication by Barker-Vormawor had said “as a lawyer and significant personality in the forefront of thought leadership and constructive socioeconomic change, we believe Mr. Vormawor must have known better and acted responsibly as a citizen of Ghana.”
The petitioner said the lawyer’s conduct constitutes grave misconduct in a professional respect and therefore prayed the General Legal Council to exercise its powers under section 16 of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) and strike Mr. Oliver Barker-Vormawor’s name off the roll of lawyers or suspend him from practicing law or holding himself out as a lawyer for a period that the General Legal Council deems fit.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu