Lawyer Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency, and Human Rights lawyer has shared an inspiring story of how he saved Lawrence Selorm Attipoe from being wrongly punished by the court after he was falsely accused of robbery, indecent assault, and defrauding by false pretenses.
Sharing the inspiring story with his Facebook followers, the MP and Human Rights lawyer, who is also the founder of Youth For Human Rights, Africa an organization promoting human rights education on fundamental rights and liberties of citizens in Ghana and other African Countries, wrote:
“In 2016, I met Lawrence Selorm Attipoe who was then a 19 year old Level 200 student at UPSA. We met at Circuit Court 1, where he had been accused of robbery, indecent assault, and defrauding by false pretenses.
He looked very innocent but so afraid. He had no lawyer and asked me “what should I say when I am called?” I answered “Not guilty of course, unless you agree to all the charges leveled against you.”
His dad, now deceased, asked me out and begged if I could represent his son. I was moved by compassion when he told me all that happened and I agreed to do so “pro bono”.
I introduced myself as a friend of the Court and forcefully argued for his bail but never saw him again since I was not actively engaged as substantive lawyer for him.
Last week, Selorm sent me a mail which read “I am one of the beneficiaries of your pro bono services and want to thank you. I was in Court for about six (6) months and later got acquitted and discharged of all the charges, because they were false.
I endured the humiliation, deferred my course, and later went back to school to graduate with Honors. I did my National Service with GRA and after Service, I am currently with my mother doing food business.”
His story brought tears to my eyes and reinforces the fact that little acts of kindness can change many lives. This is a story that must be shared to encourage every young person that setbacks are natural but temporal: Everyone can rise above his or her challenges to become an achiever.
Today, as a 24year old graduate, Selorm is desirous of changing the narrative of his life and the life of others with his story, a story of which I am pleased to have been a part of.
Selorm’s food business is “Ghana 5 Star Food”
There are many falsely accused and convicted persons like Selorm who were not financially capable to hire the services of a lawyer, neither were they fortunate enough to enjoy the benevolence of “pro bono” services from Lawyers like Francis- Xavier Sosu (Esq).
