Achimota-Rastafarian Saga: Court ruling apt - Ghanaians speak

• On May 31, 2021, the Human Rights Division of the High Court ordered Achimota School to admit two Rastafarian students it denied enrollment

• The two boys, Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea, had been denied admission into the school because of their dreadlocks.

• A cross-section of the public has described the court ruling which favoured the students as a step in the right direction


Some Ghanaians have reacted to the court ruling ordering the Achimota School to admit two Rastafarian students it denied enrollment.

The Achimota School refused to enrol two students because they had dreadlocks.

The two Rastafarian students; Tyron Iras Marhguy and Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea sued the School’s Board of Governors, the Minister of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Attorney General to enforce their fundamental Human Rights.

The school through the Attorney General argued in court that allowing the students into the school will have dire consequences on the school’s rules and regulations.

But on May 31, 2021, the Human Rights Division of the High Court presided over by Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, ruled that the fundamental human rights of two students cannot be limited by the rules in question.

GhanaWeb took to the street to get the reacting of the public with regards to the ruling.

According to one of them, the ruling has paved the way for the Rasta students to be educated and proceed to fulfil their dreams.

“The court has spoken. The constitution has been interpreted and it supersedes any personal interest. I agree with the court. Students should not be denied an education because of their hair”.

Other people who spoke to GhanaWeb did not express any views which were contrary to the court ruling.

The Judgement

Delivering the judgment on the case of two Rastafarian boys, Justice Gifty Agyei Addo held that the Attorney-General failed to provide a legal justification as to why the rights of the two Rastafarian students to education should be limited on the basis of their dreadlocks.

The school through the Attorney General argued in court that allowing the students into the school will have dire consequences on the school’s discipline, health, tradition, and community cohesion.

Justice Gifty Adjei Addo disagreed with the submissions of the Attorney and granted all the reliefs separately sought by the students.

Below is the full video;