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Kojo Oppong Nkrumah challenges Chief Justice directive on legal vacation at the Supreme Court
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Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has gone to the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Chief Justice to allow some judges to sit and hear selected criminal cases during the legal vacation.
In a writ filed at the Supreme Court, Mr Oppong Nkrumah is asking the court to declare the warrants issued by the Chief Justice for the judges to sit during the legal vacation unconstitutional, null and void.
He argues that the directive is inconsistent with Articles 17(1) and (2), 23 and 296(a) and (b) of the 1992 Constitution, which provide for equality, fairness and the proper exercise of discretionary powers.
The MP is also challenging the decision to prioritise what he describes as “special criminal cases” during the legal vacation while other criminal cases are not heard.
He argues that the practice amounts to selective justice and violates the constitutional principle of equal treatment.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah further contends that the directive affects the right to health of members of the Ghana Bar and the Judicial Service who are required to work during the legal vacation.
He is therefore asking the Supreme Court to declare the directive inconsistent with Articles 24(1) and (2) and 36(10) of the Constitution, which deal with working conditions and the protection of workers.
The MP is challenging Order 79 Rules 1(1) and 2 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47).
He wants the court to declare the provisions unconstitutional to the extent that they allow the Chief Justice to select cases for hearing during legal vacations in the same manner as ordinary court sittings.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah has brought the case in his capacity as a Ghanaian citizen, a Member of Parliament and a lawyer.
The Chief Justice and the Attorney General have been named as the defendants in the case and have been directed to file their respective statements of case within 14 days after being served with the plaintiff’s case.
He is asking the Supreme Court to issue any further orders or directions it considers necessary to give effect to its decision.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Former Legal Counsel to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Kow Abaka Essuman, has given the Ministry of Finance (MoF) up to September 11, 2026, to pay his outstanding salary arrears and terminal benefits or face legal action.
Mr Essuman, through his lawyers, Vint & Aletheia Attorneys & Consultants, said he had waited for more than 20 months for his outstanding entitlements to be paid.
In a letter dated September 8, 2026, addressed to the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the lawyers demanded the immediate payment of their client’s salary arrears and terminal benefits, together with interest.
The lawyers said Mr Essuman was appointed Legal Counsel to President Akufo-Addo from January 8, 2021, to January 7, 2025.
They added that he was subsequently appointed Acting Secretary to the President in October 2024, in addition to his duties as Legal Counsel.
According to the lawyers, Mr Essuman’s appointment entitled him to four months’ consolidated salary for every completed year of service or part thereof, an installation grant equivalent to one month’s salary, and a resettlement grant equivalent to one month’s salary for each year or fraction of a year served.
The lawyers cited the Presidential (Transition) Act, 2012 (Act 845), which requires salaries, allowances and retiring benefits due to Article 71 officeholders to be paid without undue delay.
They claimed that while other public officials who served during the same period had received their salary arrears and terminal benefits, Mr Essuman and other former Presidential Staffers remained unpaid.
The lawyers described the continued withholding of his client’s entitlements as “arbitrary, discriminatory, unfair and unlawful.”
They said Mr Essuman had made several representations to the relevant authorities in an attempt to resolve the matter administratively, but the issue remained unresolved.
The lawyers are also demanding interest on the outstanding amount from January 7, 2025, until the date of full payment, at the prevailing commercial bank rate.
They have therefore given the Ministry of Finance until Friday, September 11, 2026, to pay the outstanding amount and interest in full.
The lawyers warned that if payment is not made by the deadline, they have instructions from Mr Essuman to commence legal proceedings against the State to recover the outstanding amount, interest and costs.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Baba Sadiq, has held talks with the High Commissioner of Barbados to Ghana, H.E. Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland, at the Ghana High Commission in Abuja.
The meeting, according to the Ambassador, builds on the growing momentum in Ghana–Barbados relations, including the recent participation of Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, in high-level engagements in Ghana.
The two diplomats discussed strengthening cooperation in key areas including aviation and connectivity, tourism, trade and investment, education, culture, migration and security, reparations and multilateral affairs.
Ambassador Baba Sadiq noted that Ghana and Barbados share deep historical and cultural bonds, adding that the focus now is to translate that shared heritage into practical partnerships that connect people, unlock opportunities and strengthen Africa–Caribbean relations.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
