The Supreme Court of Ghana has granted an application by the Trustees of the Methodist Church Ghana to be joined as defendants in the ongoing legal challenge over the religious policies of Wesley Girls’ High School.
The case, filed by private legal practitioner Shaffic Osman, seeks constitutional interpretation and enforcement regarding certain religious regulations at the school.
The plaintiff is challenging policies that allegedly prevent Muslim students from wearing the hijab, observing Ramadan fasting, and undertaking Islamic prayers on campus, while requiring participation in Christian worship activities.
Lawyers for the Methodist Church Trustees argued that although the church does not directly manage the daily administration of the school, any ruling against Wesley Girls’ SHS would ultimately affect the church as the founding body of the institution.
Lead counsel for the plaintiff, Abdul Aziz Gomda, opposed the application, arguing that the school’s Board of Governors was already capable of representing the institution’s interests before the court.
However, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, did not oppose the request, noting the Methodist Church’s historical relationship with the school.
Delivering the ruling, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie held that including the Trustees would help bring finality to the dispute.
The court subsequently adjourned the case sine die.
The matter forms part of a long-standing national debate over religious accommodation in mission schools, which intensified in 2021 following reports that a Muslim student at Wesley Girls’ SHS had allegedly been prevented from observing Ramadan fasting.