The Supreme Court of Ghana has unanimously dismissed an application by Ofoase-Ayirebi Member of Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, seeking a review of an earlier decision concerning the hearing of selected criminal cases during the judiciary’s legal vacation.

The latest decision follows an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court on August 21, 2026, when the Court dismissed Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s application seeking to prevent selected High Court judges from conducting criminal trials during the legal vacation.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah had challenged administrative warrants issued by the Chief Justice that allowed selected High Court judges to sit and hear certain criminal matters during the vacation period. He argued that the arrangements raised constitutional concerns and questioned the basis for treating some cases differently during the period.

The legal vacation runs from August 1 to September 30, 2026. The MP’s broader constitutional case challenging the legality of the arrangements remains separate from the injunction and review applications.

After the initial ruling in August, Mr Oppong Nkrumah indicated that he was considering asking the Supreme Court to review its decision. He said the earlier ruling contained what he considered important observations about the way some cases had been handled by the courts.

However, the Supreme Court has now rejected that review application, meaning his attempt to overturn the earlier decision has suffered another setback.

The decision also means that the selected High Court sittings authorised for the legal vacation can continue, while the substantive constitutional challenge remains before the Supreme Court. 

The dismissal of Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s review application marks another development in the ongoing legal dispute over criminal trials during Ghana’s legal vacation. While the Supreme Court has rejected his latest application, the broader constitutional questions raised by his case have not yet been finally determined.