Catholic Bishops File Affidavit in Wesley Girls Religious Rights Case
March 24,2026
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has filed an affidavit at the Supreme Court of Ghana in support of an amicus curiae brief in an ongoing case on religious rights in public schools.
The legal action stems from a lawsuit filed by lawyer Shafic Osman, who is challenging certain policies at Wesley Girls’ High School. The suit alleges that Muslim students at the school are compelled to take part in Christian religious activities while being restricted from practising aspects of their own faith.
According to the suit, such directives breach provisions of 1992 Constitution of Ghana, particularly those that guarantee freedom of conscience, religion, and belief.
President of the Bishops’ Conference, Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, said the affidavit is based on a Memorandum of Understanding on religious tolerance in schools. The agreement, adopted in April 2024 by government-assisted and private mission schools, seeks to promote mutual respect and accommodation of diverse religious practices.
He noted that the Conference’s intervention is intended to assist the court with broader perspectives on religious coexistence in schools, rather than to support any specific party in the case.
The case has reignited national debate over religious tolerance in educational institutions, particularly the balance between long-standing school traditions and students’ constitutional rights to freely practise their faith.
