The Supreme Court has granted an application by the Trustees of the Methodist Church Ghana to join an ongoing constitutional case involving the religious practices of Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
The decision was delivered on Tuesday by a seven-member panel presided over by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie. The panel also included Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu Tanko, Ernest Yao Gaewu, Senyo Dzamefe, Richard Adjei-Frimpong and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu.
The trustees were admitted as the 4th Defendant in the suit filed by private legal practitioner Shafic Osman, who is challenging what he describes as unconstitutional restrictions imposed on Muslim students at Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
The plaintiff argues that Muslim students in the Methodist-founded school are compelled to participate in Christian worship activities while also facing limitations in practising their Islamic faith. According to him, the alleged practices violate constitutional guarantees on freedom of religion and worship.
During proceedings, counsel for the applicants, George Ankomah Mensah, told the court that the Methodist Church, as proprietor of the school, would be directly affected by any ruling in the matter and therefore deserved to be heard.
However, lawyer Abdul Aziz Gomda, representing the plaintiff, opposed the application, arguing that the case sought to revisit issues that had previously been dealt with by the court. He also maintained that Wesley Girls is a public institution.
The Attorney-General’s office, represented by the Deputy Attorney-General alongside state attorneys Stella Badu and Sarah Fafa Kpodo, indicated that it did not oppose the application. State lawyers noted that the issue of proprietor rights had already featured in their statement of case and supported the inclusion of the Methodist Church in the proceedings.
In its ruling, the apex court said it had considered both the application and the affidavit filed in opposition, including the withdrawal of portions of the supporting affidavit.
Delivering the ruling, the Chief Justice stated that the applicants had established sufficient grounds to be joined as necessary parties in the suit.
The court subsequently ordered that the Trustees of the Methodist Church Ghana be served with all processes filed in the matter so far.
