THE REPUBLIC vs THE PRESIDENT, CENTRAL REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS & 2 ORS EX PARTE: OBREMPONG NYANFUL KRAMPAH XI

JUDGMENT ACKAH-YENSU (MS.) JSC:- INTRODUCTION It is common knowledge that chieftaincy is one of the most enduring traditional institutions in Ghana, which has displayed remarkable resilience from pre-colonial through colonial to post-colonial times. The social value of the institution is given widespread recognition by the Ghanaian public. Nevertheless, the rights of even chiefs are subject to regulation. Indeed, as Coussey, JA observed in Republic v Techiman Traditional Council, Ex Parte Tutu [1982-83] GLR 996 at 999: “Chieftaincy, since the British colonial administration, has been governed by statute and this has continued since the independence of Ghana in 1957”. Thus, the institution of chieftaincy, although it has evolved in accordance with customary law, has been subjected to regulation by statute since the advent of British colonialism in Ghana. This remains true even now, subject to the qualification that Article 270 of the 1992 Constitution limits the extent...