Newly enrolled visually impaired lawyer, Mattah Tobias Dennis Xorse Esq has pledged to legally take on institutions that fail to provide structures that are disability friendly and would facilitate persons with disability.
The Ghana Bar Association has inducted seven hundred and seventy-seven lawyers as Barristers and Solicitors at a Call to the Ghana Bar ceremony at the Accra International Conference Centre on Friday, October 11, 2024. Among these 777 lawyers were two persons with disabilities, Mr. Mattah Tobias Dennis Xorse, a visually impaired lawyer, and a hearing impaired lawyer, Mr. Juventus Duorinaah.
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkunoo, graced the occasion and counseled the newly enrolled lawyers to use their expertise to make a meaningful impact.
Speaking exclusively to EIB Network’s court correspondent, Murtala Inusah after being called to the bar, Dennis Xorse Esq. highlighted the need for institutions to provide resources and infrastructure that would aid persons with disabilities enjoy equal access and opportunities.
He also added that when he duly obtains his license he will take on state institutions that fail to address the needs of persons with disabilities.
He stated, ‘If we are paying the same school fees as our colleagues who have the libraries and books accessible to them then we should be giving the same service because at the end of the day, we write the same exams with them and I don’t think anybody considers us because we lack facilities. If I had failed any of my papers today I would not have been here but I managed to do it by the grace of God. No provision especially was made for such a situation to be easier for me.
“Elsewhere the field is made even for everybody provided the person qualifies. So what the white man in his land will do is they will engage you and make sure that all the equipment you need or the logistics you need to make your studies very easy and possible would be made available even before you are admitted. But our place here even as of now that I was leaving school there was nothing like that in any of the institutions I went through.
He continued, “So as someone who has been through this it is my interest to make sure that the world and everything happening around us, especially in Ghana here should be all-inclusive. Persons with disabilities and other vulnerable classes of individuals should be given their share of the cake. When I duly obtain my license to be taken on state institutions that fail to do the right thing. I will do it. Yes if need be we will do it. Yes, we will take them.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Salimatu Nuhu
