A member of the Convention People’s Party’s (CPP), James Kwabena Bomfeh, sued the government over the yet-to-be-constructed National Cathedral project, seeking the court’s intervention against the decision to construct the project as well as the organisation of Hajj pilgrimages.
The Supreme Court set January 16, 2019, to deliver its judgment on the lawsuit challenging the construction
The court set the date after both parties in the case argued their case in the court on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.
In his arguments, Dr. Basit Bamba, who is a lawyer for Kwabena Bomfeh, said his client held that Ghana was a secular state.
He also added that the state’s entanglement in religion was unconstitutional.
Responding to the plaintiffs, the Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, said the issues raised by the plaintiff did not require an interpretation by the court, describing their arguments as contradictory.
Concluding his case, Godfred Dame said the government is acting in the interest of the people having regard to their religious beliefs.
“…the acts of the Government are simply in keeping with Ghana’s long tradition of a pragmatic, peaceful co-existence and accommodation between the State and religion, recognizing the importance to the citizenry of religious identity and worship.”
He also argued that the “Plaintiff’s case is clearly grounded in a fundamental misunderstanding of the character of Ghanaian secularism and assumes, wrongly, that there is a singular model of a secular state to which all States, regardless of their unique histories, cultures, and traditions, must conform.”
The detailed AG’s department defense can be viewed here
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By: citinewsroom.com | Ghana