Commenting on the Supreme Court’s ruling that declared as unconstitutional sections of the Citizenship Act that prohibit a person with dual citizenship from becoming a Chief Justice, Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare has urged Ghanaians to accept the verdict with delight.
He noted that the verdict is a step in the right direction while he made known his wish for other similar Acts to be amended to provide clarity on citizenship and the right to hold public offices.
He indicated that the verdict reached by the court is a course some Ghanaians have been fighting for, since 2006 when an attempt was made to disqualify Mr. Lawrence Akwasi Agyemang-Premepeh as former President John A. Kuffour’s nominee for the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister.
“I have always had a problem with the way the court and the country interpreted Article 94 (2a) and also Article A2. Let me be clear about what has happened, Article 94 (2a) has not been touched at all by this decision”
Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare
Furthermore, he indicated that the Citizenship Act 94 (2a) is the article that disqualifies Ghanaian citizens who owe allegiance to countries other than Ghana from becoming a legislator.
He clarified that the interpretation of the article in question also implies that people who find themselves in this category cannot hold other public offices like ministerial posts and a commissioner at the Electoral Commission.
However, he revealed that Parliament is working on amending Article 94 (2a) to ensure that people in this category are not limited in what they can contribute to the country’s development and to ensure clarity.
Also, Prof. Asare noted that the current verdict by the court does not affect Article 8(2) which deals with dual citizenship.
As such, he noted that individuals in this category cannot hold public offices like Ambassador or High Commissioner, Secretary to the Cabinet, and Chief of Defense Staff among others.
He indicated that the Supreme Court’s verdict is based on Section 16(2) of the Citizenship Act 2000, which indicates that no citizen of Ghana shall qualify to be appointed as a holder of some offices if he or she holds the citizenship of any other country in addition to his or her citizenship of Ghana.
“I have gone to court with this same problem, Act 5(91), and I argued that it was unconstitutional for Parliament to add offices without amending the constitution but the court then did not agree with me” – Prof. Asare
Supreme Court Justices And Dual Citizenship
Prof. Stephen Asare noted that the verdict of the Supreme Court does not call for worry as Ghanaians appreciate and celebrate Ghanaian Chief Justices who serve on the Supreme Court of other countries.
“When people sit on the Supreme Court to decide cases, I would be shocked if they are sitting there saying, well, I am Ghanaian and I am also Nigerian, therefore I am going to rule on the case differently. When you go to the United Kingdom, you don’t even have to be a UK citizen to belong to Parliament”.
Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare
He noted that by being a commonwealth citizen, an individual can be a Member of Parliament in the UK and similarly in Nigeria, once an individual has citizenship, whether dual or single, he or she has the right to vote and be voted for to hold a public office.
As such, he stated that Ghana has to reconsider its constitutional stance concerning issues as this, to ensure that the country makes good use of its human resources.
He indicated that the idea that a Lieutenant Colonel of the army can be a dual citizen but a Colonel cannot is absurd. He opined that these two offices do not have much difference in rank and authority.
He revealed that throughout history, there is no record of any individual who holds dual citizenship being officially identified as a spy.
Instead, he asserted that all spies who engage in espionage on behalf of their nations are single citizens. “There is no single instance anywhere in the world where a dual citizen betrayed his or her country”, he added.
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