At a time when newly independent Ghana was faced with the manifestation of dictatorial rule, one man stood tall in opposition to the “undemocratic” laws and policies that were being enacted and enforced with impunity by the Nkrumah regime.
Joseph Boakye Kyeretwie Danquah, affectionately known as JB Danquah, was that man who took on the excesses of the aforementioned regime. His advocacy for adherence to the rule of law and the guarantee and protection of fundamental human rights for all, at a time when these concepts seemed foreign in the lexicon of our politics and governance system, was truly visionary.
It is important to note that, even though the case of In Re Akoto and Seven Others [1961] GLR 44, has acquired a reputation of infamy since it was decided, JB Danquah’s submissions before the Supreme Court of Ghana in that case has become a must read text on constitutionalism and the constitutional history of Ghana. Such is the impact of JB Danquah, 58 years after his untimely death.
The case of In Re Akoto and Seven Others, centered on the arrest and detention of Baffour Osei Akoto (chief linguist to the then Asantehene) and seven other persons, under the Preventive Detention Act, which had been passed in 1958, by virtue of which one could be arrested and detained without trial, potentially ad infinitum, for so long as the government was satisfied that, inter alia, your future acts were deemed to be prejudicial to the security of the State!
JB Danquah, being who he was – a deep believer in the rule of law, fundamental human rights and justice, and as solicitor for the accused persons, filed a habeas corpus application on their behalf, for the government to show cause why the accused persons should remain in detention.
The High Court refused this application, and JB Danquah, not one for backing down in a legal fight on which he stood on the right side of the law, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Ghana against the decision of the High Court.
It was in the Supreme Court, that JB Danquah made his now famous submission, where he urged the apex court in Ghana to uphold the provisions of Article 13(1) of the 1960 Republican Constitution, which he argued constituted an enforceable Bill of Rights akin to the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution.
He argued that, the Preventive Detention Act of 1958 was made in excess of the powers conferred on Parliament by the Constitution and contravened Article 13 of the 1960 Constitution of Ghana.
Essentially, JB Danquah was arguing for the entrenchment of constitutionalism and thus calling on the Supeme Court to do what has now been normalized in our contemporary times i.e. strike down an Act of Parliament for being unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court held otherwise by stating that the provisions of Article 13 of the 1960 Constitution was similar to the Coronation Oath of the British Monarch and hence legally unenforceable.
According to the court, Article 13 of the 1960 Constitution, which set out a number of principles and guarantee of fundamental human rights that the President upon assumption of office was required to solemnly declare his adherence to, did not constitute a Bill of Rights in the sense of the concept of the Bill of Rights under the American Constitution (the first ten amendments), and thereby created no legal obligations that could be enforced by a court of law.
The above notwithstanding, JB Danquah’s advocacy on the issues of constitutionalism, the rule of law and human rights, have been vindicated. We now take provisions on fundamental human rights and freedoms for granted because we know they’re enforceable rights, and not left to whims and caprices of any individual regardless of their position in our political system.
We also take for granted our right to challenge the constitutionality of Acts of Parliament in the Supreme Court, because we know that Parliament is not sacrosanct and the Supreme Court is empowered by our Constitution to strike down laws enacted by Parliament for reason of unconstitutionality.
That has been the impact of JB Danquah to the constitutional growth and development of Ghana.
By Danquah Institute
