Private legal practitioner and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has urged Ghanaian authorities to draw lessons from Singapore’s criminal justice system, describing it as humane, efficient and technology-driven, in sharp contrast to what he characterised as Ghana’s “perfectly disorganised system.”
In a Facebook post recounting his recent experience coordinating legal representation for a young Ghanaian man arrested in Singapore, Mr. Barker-Vormawor highlighted what he described as best practices that protect the rights and dignity of accused persons.
According to him, lawyers in Singapore were able to instantly access details of the charges, reasons for arrest and the detention location of the suspect through an integrated digital system. He noted that the accused person also had access to a dedicated email platform, allowing regular communication with family and friends while in custody.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor further revealed that legal counsel could schedule video consultations with their client on demand, while most court processes, including filings and arguments, were conducted virtually.
He also pointed to what he described as proportional sentencing practices, explaining that Singapore’s legal framework includes offences with short maximum penalties such as three days, one week or two weeks. In the case he handled, the Ghanaian national was sentenced to one day in prison, taking into account the time he had already spent in custody.
“In a further demonstration of efficiency and respect for human dignity, prison officials drove my client straight to the airport to enable him catch his flight out of Singapore,” he said.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor noted that judges in Singapore are empowered to advise prosecutors to reconsider charging decisions to avoid undue hardship to accused persons, based on the facts of each case.
Contrasting this with Ghana’s justice system, he lamented what he described as dehumanising treatment of suspects, poor infrastructure, sanitation and healthcare challenges, and systemic inefficiencies.
“Singapore was our peer at independence and was much poorer at the time. Today, it is a first-world country, while we remain stuck due to collective backward thinking,” he stated.
The lawyer called on Ghana to begin reforms by embracing what he described as Singapore’s “soft values,” including meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty in both public and private life.
Mr. Barker-Vormawor urged policymakers to prioritise these principles as part of broader efforts to reform Ghana’s justice system and national development trajectory.
