Go to appeals court; high court got it wrong - Akomea urges Achimota school

Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, has asked Achimota School to seek an appeal to the High Court ruling on their issue with some Rastafarian students.

The Achimota school refused to enroll two Rastafarian students because of the dreadlocks.

The management of the school will only accept the students on condition that they shave their dreadlocks, which the management says is in accordance with the rules and regulations of the school.

This resulted in a legal battle between the parents of the Rastafarian students and the school.

The parents sued the school, praying an Accra High Court to “declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c)”.

They also asked for an "order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enroll the applicant to continue with his education unhindered'' and further sought compensation for the ''inconvenience, embarrassment, waste of time, and violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms''.

The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court, on Monday, May 31, 2021, ordered the Achimota School to admit the students with their dreadlocks, emphasizing their fundamental human rights cannot be limited by the rules.

But Nana Akomea fears the court ruling will set a bad precedent for the nation.

He told host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme that he doesn't agree with the High Court ruling.

"Can I go to GBC - Ghana Broadcasting - that I want to talk because there's freedom of speech and you're a public institution? Yeah, they have regulations. They have procedures, even though it's GBC, a public broadcasting company," he said.

To him, the Achimota School must 'appeal this case and take it to the Appeal's Court. At least to the Appeal's Court, they shouldn't leave it for the High Court".

"The reason I feel the court got it wrong is that we have rules. Every institution has its rules. If you don't agree with the rules, let's change the rules but you don't take the rules into your hands and say you won't obey them. If that happens, there will be chaos," he stressed.