Court dismisses suit against COP Yohuno’s appointment

The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application challenging the appointment of Christian Tetteh Yohuno, a Commissioner of Police (COP), as Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations.

Upholding a preliminary legal objection filed by the respondent,the court presided over by Justice Richard Apietu held that the applicant, Emmanuel Felix Mantey’s judicial review application failed to invoke the jurisdiction of the court.

“It isimportant to state that order 55 of Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 47, which is one of the provisions the applicant is relying on to invoke the jurisdiction of the court, is a procedural rule by which an application for judicial review may be brought and that the High Court does not derive its jurisdiction from the Rules of Court.”

“I am of the considered opinion that the applicant has failed to properly invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court and therefore this application ought to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Apietu said.

Background

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in July 2024, appointed COP Yohuno as the deputy IGP in charge of operations.

The appointment, according to a statement signed by the Director of Communications at the presidency, Eugene Arhin, was made following the advice of the Police Council during its meeting on July 17,2024.

He filed his application under Order 55 of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2004 (Cl 47), which provides for judicial review.

According to him, there is no office in the Ghana Police Service set up and designated as 'Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations.

Consequently, he argued that the President’s action of appointing COP Yohuno as 'Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations' constituted an excess of authority, procedural impropriety and illegality.

As a result, Mr Mantey was praying the court order to prohibit COP Yohuno from acting or purporting to act in the role of Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations. 

He was also requesting the court to restrain the Attorney General and the Police Council from taking any further actions in support of the appointment of COP Christian Tetteh
Yohuno.

Again, hewas seeking an “Order of judicial review for the following reliefs: An order of prohibition restraining COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno from acting or purporting to act in the role of Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of operations.” 

“An order of prohibition restraining the respondents from carrying out any actions in furtherance of the appointment of COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno as
‘Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations.”

Ruling

However, Justice Apietu ruled that the President acted in accordance with his administrative functions and not that of a judicial one. 

“The President was performing his administrative function and not exercising adjudicatory powers when he appointed COP Yohuno Deputy IGP,therefore Article 141 of the 1992
Constitution and Section 16 ofAct 459 are not the appropriate statutory provisions to be invoked against him.”

According to the court, the proper provisions the applicant should have come under to properly invoke the jurisdiction of the court in this matter was Article 23, the constitutional provision that deals with administrative bodies and administrative officials acting fairly and reasonably in compliance with requirements imposed on them by the law.

The court held that the applicant lacked the authority to intervene in the said appointment and that he failed to properly invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High
Court hence dismissed same.