Some members of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) have withdrawn from active participation in the association’s programmes and decision-making processes amid concerns about its perceived political posture, Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has said.

According to him, the apparent disengagement should not necessarily be interpreted as a lack of interest in the association, but rather as a form of protest by lawyers who are unhappy with how some matters are being handled.

He said the situation was evident in the disparity between the number of lawyers affiliated with the GBA and those who regularly attend its programmes or take part in its decision-making processes.

Mr Dafeamekpor said some lawyers had over the years perceived the GBA as being partisan, a perception he said had persisted despite expectations that the association would move away from such concerns.

“When we joined in our formative years, we were hoping that they would shed some of these perceptions or misperceptions or whatever it is,” he said.

He argued that the association’s leadership had a responsibility to examine such concerns and make use of its existing internal mechanisms to address grievances raised by members.

“If the people who get to positions of decision-making on behalf of the association continue to perpetuate that tradition, so to speak, then you advise yourself. Either you decide not to be an active member,” he said.

Speaking in an interview with Channel One TV on Wednesday, October 7, Mr Dafeamekpor said the quiet withdrawal of some lawyers amounted to a form of protest against the GBA.

“People revolt by being quiet. They are not fewer. They’ve taken a backstage. Check the number of lawyers who are members of the GBA, and check the number of lawyers who attend their programmes and participate in decision-making,” he said.

He added that he and other lawyers had previously raised concerns about the GBA’s perceived political posture during meetings, including a longstanding perception that the association’s level of activism could vary depending on which political party was in power.