Yaw Boafo, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), has told the Attorney General Dominic Ayine that there is no need for press conferences to preempt the judicial process.
The former GBA president blasted the Attorney General’s tendency to announce criminal charges in the media before going to court.
According to Yaw Boafo, the AG’s practice of media briefings could undermine the integrity of Ghana’s legal system.
Speaking after the launch of the 20th Law Students’ Union (LSU) Week celebration in KNUST, Yaw Boafo stated, “You are going to go to the courtroom and still bring your indictment and let the charge be read to the person, for the person to plead guilty or not guilty. So, how then do you go and put the matter in public that ultimately is going to end up in the courtroom?”
“The AG can give a rendition of events or facts in public, and then the bill of indictment may be something else entirely. It is a bit prejudicial. Because proceedings are going to be held in public, not in camera, there is no need for press conferences that preempt the judicial process,” he added.
“If the Attorney General or the prosecutor has a role to play and he or she says ‘I have investigated a matter and I am providing information to the public’, it may be within his mandate. But anything else that may go on to prejudice the trial, certainly if the occasion arises, it can be dealt with,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Dr Dominic Ayine has defended his press briefings on Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).
He asserted that there is nothing absolutely wrong with his media briefings.
According to Dr Dominic Ayine, what he is doing is simply accounting to the people of Ghana who are demanding accountability in the cases against former government appointees.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on June 13, 2025, Dr Ayine stated, “There is nothing absolutely wrong with the briefings. We have a duty to account to the people of this country. It is not in order to make any political party look bad. What we are doing is simply to account to the people”.
Dr Ayine added, “Even the AG of the US brief the press when they conclude their investigations”.
