The Attorney General has, in response to a suit filed by one of the Rastafarian students (Oheneba Nkrabea) denied admission to Achimota Senior High School for wearing dreadlocks, indicated that the school and all institutions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education, cannot be sued.

Chief State Attorney Stella Badu said: “Achimota School cannot be sued and it includes all schools under GES”, insisting the “cannot be sued because we represent them.”

The Attorney General filed its response and another one on behalf of the GES, following Achimota School's inability to respond to the suit despite being directed by the court to do so.

In its response, the AG said Achimota School and the Ministry of Education have been wrongly sued.

All the respondents – Attorney General, Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education filed their responses on Wednesday, 21 April 2021.

However, according to the court, it was only served a copy today, Thursday, 22 April 2021.

At the hearing, the Human Rights Court 1 Division of the High Court, therefore, adjourned the case to 30 April 2021.

The court also directed Achimota School to file its response and written submissions, if any, by 30 April 2021.

The same directive applies to all other parties named in the suit.

But Wayoe Ghanamannti, the lawyer for Oheneba Nkrabea, suspects that the move by the AG is a delay tactic.

“We are not very much surprised for the Attorney General to say that Achimota School has been wrongly sued. We disagree because we don’t see the reason why that assertion must be made. The Education Ministry is a sector and oversight ministry,” he said.

The Human Rights Court 1 Division of the High Court previously dismissed an application to force Achimota Senior High School to admit Oheneba Nkrabea, albeit temporarily while waiting the final determination of the substantive case in which he is fighting the school for not admitting him because he wears dreadlocks.

In his case, Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea, through his father, argued that he is disadvantaged, as he remains at home waiting for the final decision of the court on the substantive case while his colleagues are in school.

But the court, presided over by Her Ladyship Gifty Adjei Addo, on Monday, 12 April 2021, said forcing the school to temporarily admit the student would be prejudicial to the substantive matter.

In her reasoned opinion, expediting the trial will be in the interest of the student, as the mandatory injunction would have allowed him to be in school for only 10 days.

She, however, granted an order for the first respondent, Achimota School, to file its response seven days after being served instead of the statutory 21 days.

Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea dragged Achimota School, the Board of Governors of Achimota School, the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education and the Attorney General to court, praying the Human Rights Division of the High Court to compel Achimota School to admit him for the purposes of his education.