The Supreme Court of Ghana has dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Wesley Girls’ Senior High School (SHS) seeking to halt a constitutional suit challenging some of the school’s religious directives, clearing the way for the substantive case to proceed.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, a seven-member panel of the apex court presided over by Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie rejected the school’s argument that its Board of Governors lacked the legal capacity to be named as a defendant in the suit. Counsel for the school had contended that the appropriate party to face the action was the Trustees of the Methodist Church Ghana, which owns the school’s land and properties, not the Board of Governors.
The court disagreed, upholding submissions from Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai and the plaintiff’s lawyer, Abdul Aziz Gomda, that the Board of Governors is a competent legal party and can properly be sued in the matter.
Following the ruling, the court directed Wesley Girls’ SHS to file its response to the substantive claims within two weeks. The case has been adjourned indefinitely.
The suit was filed by private legal practitioner Shafic Osman, who alleges that the school’s directives compel Muslim students to attend Christian worship services while restricting them from practising their own faith, in violation of the 1992 Constitution. The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that those policies are inconsistent with constitutional protections on freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination.
The case traces its origins to a 2021 incident in which the school barred a Muslim student from fasting during Ramadan. It has since attracted national attention as a test of how far faith-based schools may enforce denominational rules when they potentially conflict with the constitutional rights of students from other religious backgrounds.
Other members of the panel were Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Senyo Dzamefe, Kwaku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Richard Adjei-Frimpong, and Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei.
