BY Daniel Bampoe
Lawyers representing several high-profile accused persons, including former Buffer Stock Company Chief Executive Hanan Abdul Wahab Aludiba, former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and former Minister for Information Mustapha Hamid, have mounted a strong legal challenge against the Chief Justice’s directive ordering selected criminal trials to continue during the judiciary’s legal vacation.
In separate petitions submitted to the Office of the Chief Justice and copied to the Ghana Bar Association, the law firms of Dame & Partners and Zoe, Akyea & Co. argue that the directive is unconstitutional, discriminatory and undermines the right of accused persons to legal representation by counsel of their choice.
The protest follows a directive authorising High Court judges, including Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga and Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, to hear specific criminal cases during the legal vacation, which traditionally allows judges and lawyers to take a recess before the new legal year begins in October.
Representing Hanan Abdul Wahab Aludiba in Republic v Hanan Abdul Wahab, Dame & Partners informed the Chief Justice that the legal team would be unavailable throughout the vacation period because its lawyers had already committed to professional and national assignments.
According to the petition, lead counsel Godfred Yeboah Dame indicated that after working throughout the legal year, the legal vacation was reserved for equally important professional engagements. The firm disclosed that one of its senior lawyers, Richard Gyambiby, who lectures Criminal Procedure at the Ghana School of Law, is currently engaged in marking examination scripts before proceeding on other official assignments.
The lawyers argued that compelling them to appear during the legal vacation would infringe upon the constitutional right of an accused person to be represented by counsel of his own choosing.
Similarly, Zoe, Akyea & Co., representing former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, objected to the directive, stating that requiring lawyers to continue working throughout the vacation period would disrupt long-standing personal engagements, travel arrangements and professional commitments planned after the end of the legal year.
The firm argued that its lawyers had worked continuously from October 2025 to July 2026 across courts throughout Ghana and should not be singled out to continue trial proceedings while other lawyers benefit from the judicial vacation.
Both firms further accused the judiciary of selective treatment, questioning why only a handful of criminal cases had been chosen to proceed while hundreds of other criminal and civil matters had been adjourned until October or November 2026.
According to the petitions, the selective scheduling creates the perception of unequal treatment before the law and exposes the judiciary to allegations of discrimination against accused persons facing politically sensitive prosecutions.
Dame & Partners argued that the directive was unprecedented and warned that handpicking only a few criminal cases during the legal vacation could undermine public confidence in the administration of justice. The firm maintained that every accused person is entitled to have his or her case subjected to the same procedures applicable to all criminal trials.
Zoe, Akyea & Co. echoed similar concerns, warning that continuing selected criminal proceedings during the vacation period risks creating an impression of selective justice when numerous other cases remain suspended until the commencement of the next legal year.
The objections have also received support from other defence lawyers. Augustine Obour, counsel for Hajia Faiza Wuni, and Hanifa Yahaya, representing former Information Minister Mustapha Hamid, have likewise informed the Chief Justice of their inability to participate in proceedings during the legal vacation and requested that their cases be adjourned until the courts officially resume in October.
The legal challenge comes amid increasing public attention on several ongoing corruption, financial crime and politically high-profile prosecutions currently before the High Court.
As of now, the Office of the Chief Justice has not publicly responded to the petitions.
The Ghana Bar Association has also received copies of the complaints as the legal fraternity closely watches how the judiciary addresses concerns over the conduct of criminal trials during the legal vacation.
