Renowned lawyer and Former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, has taken strong exception to the phenomenon of inviting past government officials to testify in cases after they leave office.

According to him, that was one of the convictions of late President John Evans Atta Mills.

“I vehemently disagree with this whole process of getting past leaders [to court and] using them as [witnesses],” he said.

“I think that was the whole idea of Professor [John Atta] Mills as president. There must be a way that we stop this post-judicial mindedness.”

Nana Ato Dadzie expressed these sentiments on TV3 last week, after he adduced reasons why his client, Betty Mould Iddrisu, could not make it to the Accra High Court to witness in the case between the state and businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

He said Mrs Iddrisu could not make it as a witness because she is still under the oath of secrecy sworn prior to her assumption of office as Minister of Justice and Attorney General and, “she has been out of office for some time and would need access to documents.”

He said both pretexts were “reasonable”, contesting an earlier assertion by Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong that she was snubbed by the current Vice Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

As to whether her client would respond to an invitation to witness in the appeal to the judgement, Nana Ato Dadzie said: “It is for the Attorney General to decide”.