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Supreme Court sets April 26 for ruling on Gitmo case

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice William Atuguba has panel will rule whether former President John Mahama erred in his decision to accept the two in the country.

The two ex-Gitmo detainees

This was at a court hearing on Wednesday February 8, 2017.

The two ex-detainees: Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, arrived in Ghana on Thursday January 7, 2016 for a two-year stay as part of a deal reached between the United States of America and the Government of Ghana.

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There was a huge controversy surrounding the transfer of the two to Ghana.

Many including religious bodies and security analysts feared that the presence of the two could pose a risk to the country's security.

Two Ghanaians, Margaret Banful and Henry Nana Boakye subsequently filed a suit against the then Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, and Minister of Interior on the relocation of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammed Salih Al-Dhuby in Ghana without seeking parliamentary approval.

But the suit they filed explained that under Article 58(2) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana is under an obligation to execute and maintain the Antiterrorism Act of 2008 (Act 762) and the Immigration Act of 2000 (Act 573) being laws passed under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

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The two plaintiffs were seeking a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana that the president of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of the two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice William Atuguba has panel will, therefore, rule whether former President John Mahama erred in his decision to accept the two in the country.

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