Omanghana
The Supreme Court has put on hold a Court of Appeal judgment directing the promotion of 40 police chief inspectors, pending the determination of an appeal challenging the decision.
A five-member panel presided over by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang granted the stay of execution on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The order temporarily suspends implementation of the appellate court’s January 27, 2026, judgment.
The court reasoned that carrying out the promotions before resolving the appeal could create administrative difficulties if the challenge succeeded. It considered that the affected officers would suffer less inconvenience because their promotions could be backdated if the appeal failed.
The dispute concerns Chief Inspector Christopher Okpattah and 39 other officers who challenged their exclusion from a special promotion exercise for personnel who had obtained university degrees while serving in the Ghana Police Service.
According to reports on the case, the exercise followed a 2021 amnesty introduced by the Police Management Board for eligible degree holders enlisted between December 2008 and 2020. The chief inspectors argued that colleagues, including officers junior to them, benefited while they were denied advancement to Assistant Superintendent of Police.
Their action was initially dismissed by the Kumasi High Court. However, the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and directed the relevant authorities to promote the officers and provide the associated entitlements.
Inspector-General of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno subsequently challenged the appellate ruling and sought to suspend its enforcement while the Supreme Court considered the appeal.
The latest ruling does not settle the officers’ entitlement to promotion. It keeps the Court of Appeal’s order on hold until the substantive appeal is determined.
Source: Omanghana
