[2004]DLSC2395 • July 21, 2004 • Supreme Court •
JOSEPH KOBEAH & 39 ORS. vs. AKOMEA BOATENG & 78 ORS v TEMA OIL REFINERY CIVIL APPEAL
The appellants were candidates in the 2000 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) at Notre Dame Minor Seminary, Navrongo. Their entire results were cancelled and they were banned for three years from WAEC examinations due to alleged examination malpractice involving foreknowledge and collusion in Mathematics Core Paper 2. The appellants and their school protested the decision, claiming procedural unfairness and lack of opportunity to be heard. They initiated judicial review proceedings challenging the decision as unconstitutional and unlawful.
read moreKPEGAH JSC. On 17 June 2004, this court allowed the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal but reserved its full reasons to be given later. I now proceed to give my reasons why my vote was cast that the appeal be allowed. The facts of this case are fairly simple and I do not think a detailed discussion or analysis of them is crucial to the determination of this appeal. The essential facts should not seriously be in dispute since the case was contested from the trial High Court to this court purely on legal grounds, both substantive and procedural, with the latter dominating and tilting the scales against the appellant in the Court of Appeal. The case arises out of the decision of the Final Award Committee of the West African Examinations Council (hereinafter referred to as the council) not only to cancel the entire results of the appellants but also to ban them from taking part in any examinations conducted by it for three years. The facts, which in my view are essen...