Citizen petitions Supreme Court over Kotoka Airport renaming

A Ghanaian citizen has approached the Supreme Court to halt the government’s plan to rename Kotoka International Airport, calling the decision unlawful and constitutionally invalid.

Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers filed the suit on March 13, 2026, invoking the court’s original jurisdiction. In his petition, he argued that the Executive lacks the authority to rename the airport without first amending or repealing the law that officially established its current name.

“Any Executive order purportedly issued to effect the renaming of Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport…is null, void, and of no legal effect,” Brako-Powers said in the filing.

The lawsuit highlights the General Kotoka Trust Decree of 1969 (NLCD 339), which legally enshrines the airport’s name. Brako-Powers is asking the Supreme Court to uphold the decree as binding and enforceable until Parliament enacts legislation to change it.

Michael Akosah of Adu-Gyamfi & Associates, representing Brako-Powers, submitted the writ in Kumasi. He argued that the government’s decision, which is part of a broader transport sector rebranding, violates Articles 11(1)(d) and 11(4) of the 1992 Constitution, which protect existing laws and specify how they can be amended. The petition also cites Paragraph 8(1)(a) of NLCD 339, outlining the proper procedure for altering the airport’s name.

Brako-Powers is seeking both temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent the Ministry of Transport, its agencies, or any authorised personnel from implementing the renaming. He maintains that until the law is properly changed, no executive action can override it.

Kotoka International Airport was named after Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in the 1966 coup that ousted Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Kotoka was killed a year later during a counter-coup attempt, and the airport was named in his honour. The proposed renaming has sparked public debate, with critics questioning the need for the change and others defending the historical significance of the current name.

Brako-Powers said he filed the case in both personal and public interest to protect Ghana’s 1992 Constitution as the nation’s supreme law. Under Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (C.I. 16), the Attorney-General has fourteen days from service to respond to the suit.