Kotoka vs Accra Airport: Kotoka Remains Legal Name – AG | By Joojo Maapa
Ghana’s main international airport name change from Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport remains incomplete, leaving Kotoka International Airport as the airport’s legal name pending the required legislative process, Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine has clarified.
The clarification comes amid a Supreme Court challenge initiated by legal practitioner Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, over the Kotoka Trust and the government’s proposed renaming exercise.
Brako-Powers is asking the court to declare as unconstitutional, the government’s decision to rename the airport without first amending the General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339), which established a trust in honour of the late Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka.In its response to the suit, the Attorney-General (A-G) outlined the administrative and legislative processes leading to the preparation of the Bill, maintaining that the process followed the required procedures and the airport’s legal name remains Kotoka International Airport.
In an affidavit sworn by Assistant State Attorney, Mamavi Owusu-Aboagye, the A-G said the public announcement of the proposed new name did not in law change the Airport’s name.
“The General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339) remains fully intact and operative as part of the laws of Ghana. The Airport’s legal name under Ghanaian law continues to be Kotoka International Airport,” the affidavit stated.According to the A-G, a draft Bill was first submitted to the Ministry of Transport on August 21, 2025, for onward transmission to Cabinet.
The Ministry subsequently sought Cabinet approval on November 10, 2025, which was granted on December 9, 2025.
The Cabinet decision was communicated to the Attorney-General on January 23, 2026, while the Minister for Transport signed the Bill on February 10, 2026.
Beyond defending the process, the A-G is challenging the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear the case, arguing that the plaintiff has not raised a genuine constitutional question warranting the Court’s intervention.
The A-G contends that the plaintiff’s grievance centres on an alleged breach of NLCD 339, which is a statute rather than a constitutional provision. It further argues that the action is premature because Parliament is yet to consider the Bill.
In opposing the injunctive reliefs being sought by the plaintiff, the A-G cautioned against judicial intervention in the legislative process, arguing:
“For this Court to grant the injunctive reliefs sought by the Plaintiff would be for the judiciary to arrest a legislative process at the very threshold of Parliament,” the A-G argued.
The government has also maintained that it has not interfered with the Kotoka Trust and that beneficiaries continue to enjoy their entitlements under the arrangement.
The case remains pending before the Supreme Court.
Kotoka vs Accra Airport: Kotoka Remains Legal Name – AG | AviationGhana.info@gmail.com
