2019
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
A citizen challenged the Government of Ghana’s relationship with religion, seeking constitutional interpretation and enforcement regarding the Ghana National Cathedral and the Hajj Board. He argued that allocating 6.323 hectares of public land for a national cathedral, situating a Board of Trustees at Jubilee House, proposing use of the cathedral for presidential inaugurations, and state facilitation of the Hajj, constituted unconstitutional preferential promotion of religion and excessive entanglement, contrary to equality and secularism. The Attorney-General responded that public land is vested in the President under Article 257 and that the reliefs lacked specific constitutional breaches. The Supreme Court held that the invoked constitutional provisions were clear and unambiguous, so no interpretative jurisdiction lay. Considering enforcement, the Court reasoned Ghana’s secularism accommodates state recognition and support of religion provided there is no discrimination or hindrance of religious practice. It found no infringement in the cathedral or Hajj initiatives and affirmed the President’s authority over public land. The action was dismissed.
ADINYIRA (MRS.), JSC: -
The Plaintiff brings this action in his capacity as a citizen of Ghana to seek the interpretation and/or enforcement of provisions of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana pursuant to articles 2(1) and 130(1) thereof, claiming the following reliefs:
A declaration that upon a true, combined and contextual interpretation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, particularly articles 258(1)(a) and (b) and 265 thereof, the Government of Ghana does not possess the legal authority to grant or allocate any public land, and consequently the decision of the Government of Ghana to allocate or grant 6.323 Ha of the public lands of Ghana for the construction of the Ghana National Cathedral to serve as Ghana’s Mother Church, is unconstitutional;
A declaration that by the core values, basic structure and the nature of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and upon a combined and contextual interpretation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, particularly articles 21(1)(b)(c), 35(1)(5)(6)(a), 37(1) and/or 56 of the Constitution, it is unconstitutional for the Republic of Ghana through its organs of Government, ministries, agencies, departments and/or authorized representatives to purposely aid, endorse, sponsor, support, offer preferential governmental promotion of, and/or be excessively entangled in, any religion or religious practice;
A declaration that the setting up of a Hajj Board by the Government of the Republic of Ghana for the purpose of coordinating, supporting and/or aiding Ghanaian Muslims to embark on the Muslim religious pilgrimage to Mecca (“ Hajj’), being one of the five pillars of the religion of Islam, together with the financial support the Government of Ghana provides to Muslims embarking on the Hajj, amounts to the Government of Ghana purposely aiding, endorsing, supporting and/or offering preferential governmental promotion of, and/or excessive entanglement of the Republic of Ghana with, a religion or religious practice, and thus unconstitutional;
A declaration that the nature and circumstances of the State’s involvement or support for the construction of the Ghana National Cathedral to serve as Ghana’s Mother Church, to be used among others, for presidential inaugurations, amount to the Government of Ghana endorsing, supporting and/or offering preferential governmental promotion of religion, and/or excessive entanglement of the Republic of Ghana with religion, and thus unconstitutional;
Any further or other orders as th