‘You can appeal, but be open to mediation’ – Yaw Oppong to Achimota School on rasta boys

Private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong, has urged Achimota School to remain open to negotiation and mediation despite its plans to appeal against the High Court judgment that ordered the school to admit the two Rastafarian boys, Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea.

The school’s Governing Board in a brief statement on Tuesday said it disagreed with the judgment and had instructed its lawyers to appeal.

“The court ruled that the religious rights of the two applicants had been violated by the School Management as they sought to enforce the time-tested and well-known rules of the School. The Court further directed the School to admit the two applicants. The school Board disagrees with the ruling of the Court” excerpts of the statement said.

But Yaw Oppong in an interview on Eyewitness News said the interest of the boys must be placed above all other considerations.

“The appeal does not stop further negotiations and mediation processes for the purposes of engaging all parties to resolve the matter. In all this, the Children’s Act, the Constitution and relevant Acts state that we should put the welfare and the advancement of the child’s future above because that is superior to any other consideration”, the lawyer advised.

An Accra High Court on Monday, May 31, 2021 delivered its ruling regarding the denial of two Rastafarian boys; Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea admission to Achimota School because they failed to cut their dreadlocks.

Justice Gifty Adjei Addo, the Presiding Judge, disagreed with the submissions of the Attorney General and granted all the reliefs separately sought by the embattled students except the relief of compensation in the case of Tyrone Marhguy.

According to Justice Addo, it is preposterous for the Attorney General to have even suggested that the two were not students in the first place.

Justice Gifty Adjei Addo consequently directed Achimota School to admit the two Rastafarian students.

Lawyer for the two Rastafarian boys, Wayoe Ghanamannti in an earlier Citi News interview was indifferent about the possibility of the school appealing the decision.

He said while it remains within the right of the lawyers of Achimota School to appeal the decision, he is very content that his clients have received the green light from the court to go to school.

“They have the right to appeal. Our learned friends didn’t indicate any signal of an appeal, but they have a right to do so. Even when they do that, they would have started going to school. And before the appeal will be prepared and put before a court of appeal and the court called upon to get the parties to appear and move the appeal and all that, they would have started school. When we get to that bridge, we will cross it,” he said on Eyewitness News.