A Senior Lecturer and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Dr. Elijah Tukwariba Yin, has filed a lawsuit against the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) over its directive that Vice Chancellor Prof. Johnson Boampong step aside.
The suit, which names UCC as the second respondent, challenges GTEC’s decision to appoint Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto as Acting Vice Chancellor and its threat to cut off salaries, accreditation, and funding if the University failed to comply.
In a statement dated September 19, 2025, GTEC explained that Prof. Boampong had exceeded the compulsory retirement age of 60, which it argued contravenes Article 199(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
The Commission maintained that the Vice Chancellor’s role is a public office under the University of Cape Coast Act, 1992 (PNDCL 278), and therefore subject to retirement provisions.
It further directed the Governing Council of UCC to halt the appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor until judgment is delivered in a related case before the Cape Coast High Court.
However, Dr. Yin, who is pursuing the case as a private citizen, insists that GTEC acted unlawfully. He argues that only the Governing Council has the authority to remove a Vice Chancellor, and that the Commission’s actions amount to an abuse of public power.
The lecturer contends that GTEC breached the principles of natural justice by denying Prof. Boampong a fair hearing, violated an existing High Court injunction, issued arbitrary threats, and unlawfully withheld statutory services.
He is therefore asking the court to void GTEC’s directives, restrain further interference in the Vice Chancellor’s tenure, compel the Commission to process UCC’s lawful requests, and bar Prof. Aheto from serving as Acting Vice Chancellor.
Read the full suit below:
