The Court of Appeal of Ghana sitting in Kumasi has set aside a directive issued by the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST requiring senior lecturer Rexford Assasie Oppong to apologise to two colleagues, ruling that the decision breached the rules of natural justice.
A three-member panel led by K. Baiden upheld an appeal by Prof Oppong and quashed a letter issued by the university’s Registrar in August 2024, which conveyed the directive from Vice-Chancellor Rita Akosua Dickson.
The court held that although the Vice-Chancellor had the authority to establish a fact-finding committee—chaired by Samuel I. K. Ampadu, any action arising from its findings that amounted to a disciplinary sanction must follow due process.
According to the court, directing Prof Oppong to apologise implied an admission of wrongdoing and should therefore have been preceded by procedures similar to formal disciplinary proceedings, including adequate notice and a fair hearing.
The panel consequently set aside the earlier High Court ruling which had dismissed Prof Oppong’s application for judicial review and ordered that the Registrar’s directive be quashed, with no order as to costs.