GEORGE GAMELI AGOZIE v. ANLO RURAL BANK

This wrongful dismissal suit was brought by a former Operations Manager of a rural/community bank in Ghana against his ex-employer. The controversy arose from two high-value cheques paid for customer Makolives Ventures in 2018 that were not automatically debited due to system failures. The Plaintiff later initiated a debit and reversed it pending the customer’s reconciliation, prompting a query, a Board meeting, and sanctions (suspension, demotion, reassignment). In March 2020, after an internal inquiry concerning alleged leakage of a Donewell Insurance cheque, the bank summarily dismissed him for gross misconduct (dishonesty, insubordination, negligence causing loss). The Court held that the bank complied with its HR Policy and Conditions of Service, and with natural justice via query and hearing, and that the Plaintiff’s supervisory failures and unauthorized reversal amounted to negligence. Allegations of collusion and leakage were not proven to the higher standard required for criminal conduct, but the dismissal remained justified under common law and the parties’ agreements. All reliefs were denied, and costs of GHC 5,000 were awarded to the bank.