The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court in support of an amicus curiae brief regarding an ongoing case that addresses religious rights within Ghana’s public school system.
This action follows a lawsuit initiated by lawyer Shafic Osman, which contests specific policies at Wesley Girls’ High School. He claims that Muslim students at the institution are forced to engage in Christian religious activities while being prohibited from practising elements of their own faith.
The lawsuit further argues that such mandates infringe upon the provisions of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, particularly those that ensure freedom of conscience, religion, and belief.
In an interview, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, stated that the Conference’s submission is based on a Memorandum of Understanding regarding religious tolerance in educational settings. This MoU was adopted in April 2024 by both government-assisted and private mission schools to foster mutual respect and the accommodation of various religious practices.
He clarified that the Conference’s intervention aims to provide the court with a broader understanding of religious coexistence in educational institutions, rather than to endorse any specific party involved in the case.
The case has sparked a renewed national dialogue on religious tolerance in schools, prompting discussions about the equilibrium between institutional traditions and the constitutional rights of students to freely practise their faith.
