On 2nd February, 2022, the High Court, Winneba, departed from its earlier holding of 14th July, 2017, to remove from office Prof. Mawutor Avoke, as Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), and five (5) others.
Prof. Mawutor Avoke, together with the five (5) other officers, thus the Finance Officer (FO) Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, the Deputy Finance Officer, Frank Owusu Boateng, the Deputy Director of Works & Physical Development, Ing. Daniel Tettey, the Internal Auditor, Sena Dake, and Head of Procurement, Ms. Mary Dzimey, were accordingly reinstated by the 2nd February, 2022 ruling of the High Court, Winneba.
This latest decision of the High Court, Winneba, was challenged at the Supreme Court by a private citizen, and on two separate sittings, the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which effectively put to rest any question surrounding the reinstatement of Prof. Avoke and the five (5) others.
Therefore, having been cleared of all wrongdoings by both the High Court and the Supreme Court and subsequently reinstated, and as someone who wrote extensively on the issues of UEW in the past; primarily based on the position of the law at that material time, I deem it appropriate to revisit the issue and do the needful.
Law is one of the easiest areas of study to pursue. Fact is, law is not like say, Mathematics, where one must arrive at a specific answer. Law is a matter of convincing the Judge with the relevant established legal principles, cases and statutes, where appropriate. This is why a case can ‘flip-flop’ from the trial court (win-lose-win-lose) all the way to the Supreme Court.
If both the High Court, Winneba, and the Supreme Court of Ghana (the nation’s highest court), are now convinced that Prof. Avoke and the five (5) others did no wrong and as a result were removed unjustly from office on 14th July, 2017, then who am I to disagree?
I emphasized this point in an earlier publication in the immediate aftermath of the reinstatement of Prof. Avoke. However, an apology was missing in the said publication. Am a human being, and as a result, not perfect. Perfection is the domain of ONLY Allah!
I erred, just like the two (2) courts of competent jurisdiction mentioned above did, and I do hereby retract all those publications against Prof. Avoke and the five (5) others and apologize unreservedly to them.
Another body that equally deserves an apology is the UEW Governing Council. It appears to be steadily making in-roads in the area of consolidating the peace in UEW and this ought to be commended (the Council set up a seven-member Unity, Reconciliation and Inclusion Committee with the mandate to initiate the process of healing, following the reinstatement of Prof. Avoke).
Since the Council is working both overtly and covertly to further the course of UEW positively, it is appropriate that I retract and apologize to the UEW Governing Council and its Chairman (Nana Ofori Ansah I), in respect of a publication I authored against the Council and its Chairman over a year ago.
Since the reinstatement of Prof. Avoke, there has been relative peace in UEW. Some disgruntled individuals whose looting of UEW funds came to an abrupt end when Prof. Avoke was reinstated, attempted putting in a spanner to undo the good works, but by the grace of Allah, they have been unsuccessful so far, and so shall it continue, Insha Allah!!
I wonder who Prof. Avoke has sacked or attempted to sack following his reinstatement over a year ago.
However, it is on record that someone who was just in an Acting capacity as VC for just four (4) months, sacked some security officers, and was hellbent on dismissing the son of the upright peasant farmer when the ‘tsunami’ swept through UEW on 2nd/7th February, 2022.
The security officers were reinstated following the second coming of Prof. Avoke.
Fourteen (14) months into the administration of Prof. Avoke, no dismissal no attempted dismissal. This is an undisputed fact!!
On a lighter note, it is rumoured that the defacto leader of the UEW ‘Derg’ has given birth to quadruplets.
Perfection is not expected from Prof. Avoke, however, he has done marvelously well following his reinstatement.
I will conclude with this prayer: May the Good Lord see Prof. Avoke successfully through the remainder of his tenure!!
To conclude conclusively (Yayra Dzakadzie, 2023), it is submitted that UEW is at ease under the leadership of the reinstated Prof. Avoke, and the center is holding firmly.
Alhassan Salifu Bawah
(son of an upright peasant farmer)
