In a fervent plea directed at President Akufo-Addo, Ghana's former Auditor General, Mr Yao Domelevo, has taken a bold stand against what he perceives as a repeated violation of the country's laws.

His appeal comes as a resolute call for adherence to the rule of law and a plea for accountability at the highest levels of leadership, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the directive for Mr Domelevo to proceed on forced leave as issued in 2020 by President Akufo-Addo was unconstitutional.

Although Mr Domelevo admitted that he was happy about the ruling of the Apex Court, he was also saddened by the fact that the President was the perpetrator of this violation.

“The long and short of it is that today we are at the point where we know who is wrong and who is not wrong. But let me tell you one thing that saddens me about this decision; it's the fact that this is the highest office of the land -the Office of the President- which is at the forefront of violating the Constitution, of violating the laws of the country,” he said in an interview with JoyNews.

With passion and conviction, Mr Domelevo, thus, appealed to the President to halt these transgressions and restore the integrity of his office as well as Ghana's legal system .

“I'd like to plead with the office to desist from this so that we see the office of the President as the one which is at the forefront of enforcing or upholding the Laws of the country. It should not be said that in a day, the Supreme Court has decided on two cases and in all these cases, the Presidency was wrong.I don't think it augurs well. So it is my wish and prayer that going forward care will be taken,” he said.

The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 31, 2023, declared as unconstitutional the 2020 directive by President Akufo-Addo, for the former Auditor-General to proceed on forced leave.

In a letter dated June 29, 2020, and signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, the President justified the decision with sections 20(1) and 31 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which apply to all workers, including public office holders such as the Auditor-General. Mr Domelevo’s leave was further extended after the first deadline was due.

The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and eight other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who described the move as an affront to the independence of the office took up the matter and sought legal redress for the former Auditor-General at the Supreme Court after several unattended appeals to the President.

After hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that the move was unconstitutional.

The Court said the decision by President Nana Akufo-Addo against Daniel Yao Domelevo in 2020 to take his 169 working days of accumulated leave was null and void.