Removed Former president of the GIMPA Law School Law Students Association (LSA), Festus Tettey Martey has rendered an unqualified apology to the Dean of the GIMPA Law School, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Budu for his gross misconduct and insubordination when he was in school.
His apology was essentially necessitated by his inability to obtain an academic and character reference due to his record at the Law School in partial fulfillment of the required documents that students who have been admitted to the Ghana School of Law (GSL) for the 2024/2025 academic year have to provide to the school’s registrar to complete their admission process.
“I am writing to extend a sincere apology to you (Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Budu) for any challenge that may have occurred during the 2022 LSA elections and its aftermaths. Please accept my genuine apologies for any negative consequences resulting from my action or action taken by anyone acting on my behalf at the time,” Festus Tettey Martey’s letter addressed to the Dean of the GIMPA Law School dated 17 October 2024 read.
Festus Tettey Martey and three others in 2022 had their election as LSA executives set aside and nullified following a report presented to the Dean by an inter-faculty committee established to determine the Law Students Association (LSA) electoral dispute.
The report indicated that the elections was fraught with serious irregularities which suggested “a lack of transparency in the electoral process which casts a doubt on the election results” and as a consequence “the election results for the June 2, 2022 LSA election be set aside.”
However, prior to and during the committee’s enquiry into the electoral dispute, Festus Tettey Martey proceeded to engage in insubordinate acts unbecoming of a Law student, including but not limited to, inciting GIMPA Law students against the Dean, questioning the intelligence and competence of the newly appointed Dean, and causing defamatory stories to be published against the Dean on 3news and ModernGhana among other online media platforms.
Following the recommendation of the inter-faculty committee chaired by the Dean of Students of GIMPA, Dr Augustina Akonnor, to set aside the results of the election in question, the Dean of the GIMPA Law School proceeded to set aside the results.
“For the avoidance of doubt the following persons, previously elected on 2nd June 2022 as LSA Executives, are no longer LSA Executives and are hereby prohibited from holding themselves out as such: Festus Matey, Rosabeth Akiwele Avio, Grace Fredericka Lutterodt and Nathaniel Akyea,” the Dean’s final decision read.
Despite the nullification of the election results, Festus Tettey Martey continued with his disrespectful behaviour and personal attacks directed against the Dean of the GIMPA Law School up to the point of his graduation from GIMPA in July 2023.
In a rather ironic turn of events, the same Festus Tettey Martey upon finally passing the entrance exam to the Ghana School of Law this year, required an academic and character reference letter indicating that he is of good character and was not involved in any disciplinary issues whilst a student, from the same Dean of the GIMPA Law School, whom he had so grossly abused and disrespected when he was a student.
Due to the fact that Festus Tettey Martey’s file at the GIMPA Law School had his records of indiscipline and behaviour unbecoming of a law student generally, it was impossible for the Dean to author a letter which he knows to be untrue.
This is what has essentially necessitated the unqualified apology from Festus Martey, to ensure that there was a formal record of his remorse for future purposes, should any issue arise regarding the truthfulness of the Dean’s reference letter, should it be signed for him.
Click on the link below to read the full committee report
