Once upon this past week, as Accra’s skies toggled between scattered rains and sunshine like a confused DJ spinning a June playlist, two respected legal dons turned the digital streets into a courtroom—and the rest of us into jurors without wigs.
Godfred Yeboah Dame, Ghana’s immediate past Attorney General and Minister of Justice, took to the airwaves—not to cite law, but to pour heart. Not the Constitution this time, but constitution of the emotional type.
On radio, he alleged betrayal. But not from political opponents in Parliament, nor from hooded critics with pseudonyms on X (formerly known as Twitter). No. This betrayal, he claimed, was a full-robed, bar-certified heartbreak—courtesy of one Thaddeus Sory, lawyer extraordinaire, and once, if we are to believe the subtext, a brother-in-briefs.
“Thaddeus Sory betrayed me,” he said.The studio grew quiet. Microphones leaned in. The nation blinked.
According to Dame, while the nation’s legal warriors were still parsing through court filings and scandal whispers involving the alleged bugging of an anti-corruption crusader’s private calls, Sory had allegedly danced a delicate two-step—representing both a client (the complainant) and somehow fraternizing with him (Dame), under the soft twilight of legal friendship.
The rest, as they say, was a screenshot.In Ghana, where proverbs rain harder than actual rain, elders would say: “If your friend sharpens a cutlass and asks for your back, don’t offer your spine.”
And so, while most of Accra was debating IMF conditionalities and kenkey prices, social media took to court. Not the Supreme Court. Not even the Law School Moot Court. But the hallowed benches of Facebook, X, and WhatsApp groups titled “Legal Eagles” and “Bar & Grill (Lawyers Only).”
The evidence? A series of WhatsApp chats. Screenshots flew across timelines like wedding invitations during December in Kumasi. Even non-lawyers began citing sections of the Ghana Legal Profession (Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020, with more confidence than law students fresh from their first moot.
Enter, Exhibit A: Sory’s carefully worded response.The man didn’t return fire with fire. He returned fire with finesse. One part legalese, two parts diplomacy, and just a dash of “I’ll say nothing further—per advice of counsel.”
He acknowledged the commentary, clarified his position, and—rather gentlemanly—resisted the temptation to fan the flames.
To his credit, his reply read less like a counterattack and more like a judicial robe fluttering quietly in the wind.
But by then, Ghana’s digital court had entered round two.
The memes? Brutal. The verdicts? Conflicted. The banter? Michelin-star quality.
Some sympathised with Dame: “You can’t share kelewele with a man at midnight and wake up to find him on the other side of the courtroom.” Others, lawyers and non-lawyers alike, accused him of emotional overreach: “Is this a law report or a love letter?”
A few mischief-makers even began narrating it as a Nollywood courtroom romance gone rogue—Objection My Love: The Thaddeus & Dame Files.
And what of the Ghana Bar Association? As usual, silent. Not even a locus classicus of concern. And perhaps rightly so. When titans wrestle, the ground must first settle before the fence-builders arrive.
So, what do we learn?That even in the esteemed corridors of the law, where wigs are white and Latin is still alive, hearts can be bruised. That betrayal, whether perceived or proven, stings more when wrapped in loyalty’s robe. And that, in Ghana, no matter your title, once you enter social media’s arena, your gravitas must first pass the Twitter test.
As our elders say, “When two elephants fight, the lawyers get trending, and the bloggers rejoice.”
And somewhere in the background, a law student is updating their CV to say, “Specialized in Legal Drama (Contemporary Ghanaian Stream).”
Case dismissed—until next week.
Attribution:This article is based on real-time public commentary and satirical interpretations of social media exchanges between Godfred Dame and Thaddeus Sory. It does not constitute legal advice or a judicial ruling. Just vibes and vicarious litigation.
The writer, Jimmy Aglah, is a media executive, author, and sharp-eyed social commentator. His debut novel, Blood and Gold: The Rebellion of Sikakrom, now available on Amazon Kindle, explores power, rebellion, and the soul of a nation. When he’s not steering broadcast operations, he’s busy challenging conventions—often with satire, always with purpose.
