Removal of former GIJ rector unconstitutional, court fines school GH¢25k

An Accra High Court has ruled as unconstitutional the purported removal in 2018 of Dr Wilberforce Dzisah as the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

The court according to a report by Adomonline.com sighted by GhanaWeb has thus ordered that Dr Dzisah is paid all his entitlements at the current bank rate of interest for the remainder of his unexpired fixed term as Rector.

This was contained in a judgement issued by the Labour Division – Court 1 of the Accra High Court presided by Justice Frank Aboagye Rockson on Wednesday.

The judge further directed the University to to pay the plaintiff (Dr Dzisah) additional six months’ salary at the prevailing interest rate.

The school was also ordered by the court to pay the former rector his additional responsibility allowance of 20 percent as the Director of the Graduate School from 2013-2017 with interest.

The court again directed that his withheld responsibility and entertainment allowances for July-December 2016 as Rector as well as research and book allowances for 2017 be paid to him at the current bank rate of interest.

In addition, the court also imposed a cost of GHS25,000.00 on GIJ.

The Governing Council of GIJ in March 2018 sacked Dr Dzisah after he was asked to proceed on leave.

His appointment as rector of Ghana’s premier media university which was due to end in August 2018, was terminated by the Council on Friday, March 23, 2018.

He had before the sack been directed to proceed on leave in December 2017 over “procurement infractions.”

In the suit filed against his removal, Dr Dzisah argued that the Governing Council of GIJ then led by Prof. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, Dr Margaret Amoakohene, and Dr Kweku Rockson among others took the decision without recourse to the GIJ Statutes and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

The plaintiff who deemed the action to be wrong initiated the legal action as contained in Suit No. IL/0054/2018 to redeem his reputation.

According to the report on the court’s proceedings, the defendant during trial never brought up the allegations of procurement infractions levelled against the former rector when it opened its defence.

“Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh told the court that they (Governing Council) had no report indicting the plaintiff before the court but just decided as a collective to get rid of him,” the report by Adomonline.com stated.

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