A Ghanaian citizen has taken legal action at the Supreme Court of Ghana, seeking to block the government’s decision to rename Kotoka International Airport, arguing that the move is unconstitutional.
The plaintiff, Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, filed the case on March 13, 2026, invoking the court’s original jurisdiction. He contends that the Executive lacks the authority to change the airport’s name without first amending or repealing the law that established it.
At the centre of the dispute is the General Kotoka Trust Decree of 1969 (NLCD 339), which legally закрепs the airport’s current name. According to the suit, any attempt to rename it without following due legislative process is invalid and has no legal standing.
Brako-Powers is asking the court to affirm that the existing law remains in force until Parliament officially changes it. His lawyer, Michael Akosah of Adu-Gyamfi & Associates, also argues that the renaming effort breaches provisions of the 1992 Constitution that outline how laws can be amended.
The case further seeks both temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent the Ministry of Transport Ghana and its agents from implementing the proposed new name.
The airport is named after Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in Ghana’s 1966 coup. The proposed change has triggered public debate, with discussions centering on legal procedure and historical significance.
Brako-Powers says the suit is in both his personal and public interest, stressing the need to uphold the Constitution as the supreme law of Ghana.
