A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) legal team Nana Ato Dadzie has declared that the 2012 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo�s status as a lawyer cannot be challenged.
A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Francis Yaonasu Kpegah had filed a suit at the High Court alleging impersonation by the 2012 NPP presidential candidate, which was finally thrown out by the court, on grounds that it was vexatious and frivolous.
Indeed a picture of Nana Akufo-Addo when he was enrolled as a lawyer with Nana Ato Dadzie and Tsatsu Tsikata in 1975 has popped up.
Nana Ato Dadzie, a former Chief of Staff under the Rawlings administration, said his personal experience with Nana Addo proved that the NPP guru is an eminent lawyer.
The NDC lawyer, who was speaking on Citi FM�s news and current affairs programme, The Big Issue stated that although Justice Kpegah reserves the right to sue Akufo-Addo on his legitimacy as a lawyer, his personal experience shows that the claim is untenable.
�I have known Nana Akufo-Addo within the courts of this country. (As regards) political life we�ve also been on one side before and all that, so if anyone comes up to say that Nana Addo is not a lawyer I should be the first to step forward to say no that cannot be true.�
Chief Justice Petitioned
In face of the allegation that Nana Addo is not a lawyer, a concerned Ghanaian has petitioned the Chief Justice to intervene in what he regards as a deliberate action by Justice Kpegah to malign the NPP leader.
The action of Fadi Samih Dabbousi comes on the heels of the dismissal of the action instituted by the retired Justice, questioning the authenticity of Nana Akufo-Addo as a lawyer on the roll of lawyers in the country.
Justice Kpegah, according to Mr. Dabbousi, �has made it an ambition to tarnish the hard-earned good name of this fine gentleman, seemingly, as a final act to crown his career�, describing the action as a sheer act of inanity.
�Based on the confirmation of the Ghana Bar Association and the General Legal Council, Nana Akufo-Addo, contrary to the position of Justice Kpegah, is a lawyer of sterling reputation who has appeared on several occasions before the man who dragged him to court on issues of complex interpretation of the Constitution.
�Those who know Nana Akufo-Addo would testify to his quality as a lawyer of sterling status and one of the finest Ghana has ever had in recent times.�
Mr. Dabbousi noted that it would therefore be �of grave insult to the very core and fibre of our Ghanaian society to witness a former Lord of the Supreme Court displaying such parody to reflect negatively on retired luminaries like himself.�
Continuing, he entreated the Chief Justice �to stop Justice Kpegah or anyone from attempting to malign Honourable Akufo-Addo.�
He regarded Justice Kpegah�s now defused action as an absurdity, seeking to smear Nana Addo�s life-long achievements.
Turning to the moments after the High Court�s dismissal of the case, he recalled how airwaves were filled with the noise from one David Annan and Justice Kpegah, stating the latter would pursue the matter to the end.
�I wonder in what capacity he seeks to act and whether the holy Constitution of our land will accommodate the persistent and incessant attempts by someone to defame another without base or purpose other than acting on behalf of a hidden evil agenda.
�It is my conviction that Your Lordship is an able custodian of the holy Constitution of our country, Ghana, as it is my belief that our rights as citizens of this land no matter the persons involved are ably preserved in your hands, my Lord,� he said.
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