Ghana’s constitution prohibits dual citizens from holding any public office, whether it is serving as Members of Parliament, Inspector General of Police (IGP), or becoming ambassadors or high commissioners.
Article 92 Clause 2a of the constitution states “a person shall not be qualified to be a member of parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana."
Some prominent Ghanaian public figures have had their eligibility challenged in court due to accusations of holding dual citizenship.
GhanaWeb looks at some of the affected personalities in recent times:
1. James Gyakye Quayson
The Member of Parliament for Assin North constituency, elected on the NDC ticket, had his eligibility to serve challenged at the Supreme Court after the 2020 general elections.
According to the suit challenging his eligibility, his dual citizenship of Canada and Ghana prevents him from serving as a public servant.
In 2021, a Cape Coast high court presided over by Justice Kwasi Boakye declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North constituency, null and void, revoking him of his parliamentary title.
Gyakye Quayson subsequently appealed the judgement, at the Appeals Court insisting the Cape Coast High Court erred in its ruling. He argued that the ruling delivered by the High Court was neither based in law nor in fact.
His appeal was dismissed.
He maintained that he renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2019, so he was not a Canadian citizen at the time of his election or when he swore an oath of office as a Member of Parliament.
The Supreme Court in a 5-2 majority ruling on April 13, 2022, ordered Gyakye Quayson to stop holding himself as a member of parliament.
This was after Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, the plaintiff/applicant who filed an election petition against Mr. Quayson initiated another action at the Supreme Court requesting that, the court allows the Cape Coast High Court judgement to take effect as well as prevent further breach of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana by restraining him as member of parliament since he continued to sit in parliament as MP.
James Gyakye Quayson subsequently won a by-election with 17, 245 votes, constituting 57.56% of votes cast held in Assin North following the seat being declared vacant by the electoral commission after the Supreme Court’s ruling..
2. Dorcas Affo-Toffey
The Member of Parliament for Jomoro after winning her 2020 parliamentary was accused of holding dual citizenship as a Ghanaian and an Ivorian.
The complainant, a resident in her constituency, filed a suit where a court case was instituted against her challenging her citizenship as a Ghanaian.
After years of legal battle, the Sekondi High Court ruled in favour of her. The High Court ruled that her election as Jomoro MP was legitimate, therefore declaring the dual citizenship suit filed as null and void.
The court reasoned that the laws of Cote d’Ivoire categorically state that as soon as citizenship status is conferred on someone in another country, that person automatically loses his or her citizenship of the other country.
TWI NEWS
3. Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong
The Supreme Court nominee has faced strong disapproval from the minority over his dual citizenship.
He is a Canadian-Ghanaian citizen.
The minority argued that Ghanaian laws prohibit individuals with dual citizenship from holding key government positions, therefore making Prof. Oppong ineligible to become a judge at the Supreme Court.
He has been asked to renounce his citizenship to be eligible for the position.
However, a recent ruling by the Supreme Court against sections of the Citizenship Act, now allows dual citizens to hold positions such as Chief Justice, Commissioner of the Value Added Tax Service, Director-General of the Prisons Service, Chief Fire Officer, Chief Director of a Ministry, the rank of a Colonel in the Army or its equivalent in the other security services.
By this judgement, Prof. Oppong could become Ghana’s first dual citizen to sit at the Supreme Court.
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