The former Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has rebuffed requests to seek damages for the unlawful “leave” the president imposed on him in 2020.
After three years, the Supreme Court declared the forced leave to be “unconstitutional and null and void.”
Even though he felt vindicated, Domelevo claimed in an interview with Citi FM hours after the May 31 verdict was announced that he was not going to pursue his case any further because the person who put him in this situation was not a taxpayer.
“Many people made such suggestions, but I jokingly tell them why would I take redress to get compensation from the taxpayers who did nothing to me. The president doesn’t pay tax, so I’m not interested in taking any further action,” he said.
About his ouster, he submitted further: “It’s a position and not a possession, so I have moved on… I think the verdict is the most important thing.”
Civil Society Organizations filed a complaint, claiming that the president’s order for Domelevo to take 169 days of accumulated leave before retiring violated the office’s independence and was an attempt to thwart anti-corruption investigations.
The two-year legal battle came to an end on May 31, 2023, when the Supreme Court upheld the lawsuit and ruled that the president’s decree was “unconstitutional and null and void,” ending the two-year legal battle that had begun when the president refused to retract the edict.
On Wednesday, May 31, Mr. Domelevo voiced his happiness with the court’s ruling and said he felt vindicated in an interview on Accra-based JoyNews’ Upfront program.
“I was not jumping around, but I felt vindicated when the decision came. If you remember, when I wrote to the office of the president to draw the attention of the president to the unconstitutionality of the directive from the president, I was told it’s because I am not a lawyer, I don’t appreciate the law, and I am happy that those in whose bosom reside the interpretation of the constitution and the laws have affirmed my position,” he said.
He added, “I am ultimately happy because those who come after me will not have to go through this again.”
Mr. Domelevo stated his hope that caution would be used in order to prevent a repetition of such a situation in the future and thought that the verdict would deter similar illegal actions against his successors.
