Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson has lodged a formal complaint with the General Legal Council (GLC) against Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, alleging “professional misconduct.”
Mr Quayson has called for disciplinary action to be taken by the GLC following what he considers inappropriate behaviour by Dame.
In a letter addressed to the Council, the opposotion National Democratic Congress MP, pointed to an incident on July 19, 2023, during which he asserts that the Attorney General failed to inform the court about an attachment referred to by a witness. Mr Quayson contended that Mr Dame’s conduct runs contrary to the established professional standards for lawyers.
He argued that the Attorney General’s testimony contradicted that of his own witness and was presented without prior notification to his (Quayson’s) legal team or himself, regarding pertinent facts known to the prosecution.
Such disclosures are a normal practice in litigation.
Mr Quayson expressed concern that the witness’s testimony had been influenced by what he described as “professionally improper testimony” provided by the Attorney General.
He has instructed his legal representatives to obtain a certified true copy of the proceedings from the trial court on the aforementioned date and intends to submit it to the Disciplinary Committee once obtained.
Furthermore, Mr Quayson recounted an additional incident on June 16, during which he alleges that the Attorney General used insulting language towards him while his lawyer was attempting to highlight his candidacy in the Assin North parliamentary by-election.
Mr Quayson deemed the use of such language to be baseless and contrary to the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers.
Mr Quayson, who is standing trial for perjury, also criticised the Minister of Justice for engaging in media interviews related to his case, which he views as an act of misconduct that has compromised his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and his right to a fair trial.
Mr Quayson initially secured his position as the Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency in the 2020 General Elections.
However, the legality of his election was contested, leading to a High Court ruling on July 28, 2021, nullifying the 2020 parliamentary election in the Assin North constituency.
He was found to have held Canadian citizenship in addition to his Ghanaian citizenship at the time of filing to run for office.
Ghana’s Constitution bars dual-citizens from running for electoral office.
As a consequence, the Suoreme Court ordered parliament to expunge his name from the legislative roll.
Subsequently, he was re-elected in a by-election held a few months ago.
