MP for South Dayi Constituency, Honorable Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, has stated that, the new directive given by the Director of the Ghana School of Law(GSL) to law students regarding the submission of their social media handles is a form of infringement on their constitutional rights of freedom of expression. These submissions will be monitored by the GSL.
This directive from the Ghana School of Law was as a result of a trending issue where a Youtuber’s call to the bar has been put on hold as a result of the content on her social media platforms. The MP said that he was in shock and in disbelief when he found out that the Ghana Legal Council had put the Youtuber’s call on hold due to the complaints received by the Ghana Legal Council.
“If you read the content of the complaint, based on which the General Legal Council is taking this action, the complaint alleged a bridge of the conduct of the student handbook. Now if you read the Ghana School of Law handbook, a breach or a misconduct is actionable by the management of the school.”
Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor
He explained that this type of situation does not get to the General Legal Council but rather, it is held at the level of the registrar and it’s appealable to the registrar and the board of legal education. Honorable Nelson stated that the issue was supposed to be handled with care.
“I’m struggling to appreciate how the General Legal Council will come into this matter when it is about the conduct of a student. Yes, I agree that part of the eligibility criteria, you’re supposed to pass your exam and there’s also supposed to be a report of good conduct.”
Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor
According to him, the General Legal Council has to wait because the “good conduct” cannot be determined if there is a complaint. He suggested that the Ghana Legal Council should allow her to be called to the bar until she is proven guilty of the allegations thrown at her.
The decision taken by the GLC was unfair to the lady, he said, adding that there appears to be some sort of confusion with the way the law was being employed in this case.
She Is Not Qualified Because She Defiled The Law
Lawyer Moses Afoh stated that Ghanaian Youtuber popularly known as Ama Governor who was denied being called to the bar, does not deserve to be called to the bar because she is and advocate of the LGBTQ+ community.
The practice of LGBTQ+ is not an accepted norm and a way of life of Ghanaians , therefore Lawyer Afoh agrees with the GLC to uphold her call to the bar. He mentioned that members of the LGBTQ+ community have managed to move away from the actual things they do and its consequences, and are rather shifting the focus of the public on abstract social contracts.
“If somebody has a right, you have to tell us about the content of that right. What does the person want the laws to protest?… So those people speaking do not understand the issue properly or clearly they are not supporting anything called human rights.”
Lawyer Moses Afoh
According to him, the lady in question can take this matter to the court to challenge the decision made by the GLC, stating that the matter is already before the Supreme Court.
Lawyer Afoh also mentioned that this was the time for the parliamentarians and the government as a whole to pass and publicize strict prohibitory laws against the practice of LGBTQ+ in the country.
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