Achimota School withdraws stay of execution application on rasta students case

The Board of Achimota School decided in an earlier statement to appeal the high court judgment that directed it to admit Tyrone Iras Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea with their dreadlocks.

But the Board, after backlash from some quarters, has issued a revised statement saying although it remains committed to the appeal against the high court ruling, it will withdraw the application for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal by a higher court.

The statement said: “Further to our statement issued on June 1, 2021, on the subject of two Rastafarian applicants, we have been in consultation with other relevant stakeholders to seek the best ways forward, taking into account the interests of all parties”.

“While the Board remains committed to the appeal against the high court ruling, it will withdraw the application for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal by a higher court. We have, accordingly, advised our legal counsel in this respect.”

Meanwhile, Education Minister Yaw Osei Adutwum has said the Board cannot, on its own, decide to appeal the high court judgment that directed it to admit the two Rastafarian students with their dreadlocks.

He told Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, that the decision by the Board of Achimota School was “surprising”.

“I am very surprised”, Dr Adutwum told host Paul Adom-Otchere.

The Board, he noted, “cannot take that unilateral position to go back to court”.

He said the “Boards of High Schools are constituted by the Minister”, and, thus, “instructions for the running of the schools are provided by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service”.