By Gifty Amofa, GNA
Accra, Jan.22, GNA –
The Court of Appeal on Thursday, January 22, 2026, ordered the Ghana Police Service to rectify the error that led to the denial of promotion of some 40 Police Chief Inspectors in 2021.
In a unanimous decision by the three-member-panelled Court presided over by Justice Eric Baah, it asked all three defendant respondents: Inspector General of Police(IGP) Attorney General and the Police Management Board(POMAB), to grant the wish of the applicants and promote them accordingly.
The Court also ordered the defendant respondents to grant all their entitlements within six months.
In February 2025, the High Court dismissed a suit by the applicants over claims of unfair denial of promotion.
The officers, who had served between 25 and 30 years, contended that they had been unjustly excluded from a special promotion amnesty exercise that resulted in the promotion of degree holders who earned their qualifications before 2020.
The Police Officers argued that junior officers from Constable to Inspectors benefitted from the exercise but they were congratulated and denied direct entry into the Police Academy, a prerequisite for promotion to Assistant Superintendent of Police(ASP).
The claims included seeking direct promotion into the Academy and compensation for income lost due to the stalled career progression from respondents over the unjustifiable refusal of the Service to promote them.
However, Justice Frederick Tetteh in his judgement on February 5, 2025, said the plaintiffs failed to prove claim on the preponderance of probability, adding that their attainment of higher academic qualification was not entitled to promotion by reason only of their academic qualification.
That meant that depending on the mode of recruitment, an entry to the Police Academy is by competitive examination or by special recommendation in line with Police Service Regulation.
Again in its judgement, the High Court encouraged plaintiffs to continue to write the entrance examination as they might find favour in the future.
After the Court of Appeal’s judgement, it was emotional for the officers as some shed tears of joy while others expressed relief.
GNA
23 Jan. 2026
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong