Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has condemned the impasse between the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mawutor Avoke.

In a Facebook post, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee called on the government to uphold democratic freedom among citizens.

“The torture and trauma Vice Chancellor Prof. Mawutor Avoke and his UEW colleagues have been subjected to should never ever happen in Ghana. Political power should not be used to terrorize citizens including the intelligentsia; it must be used to advance freedoms, empower and heal,” he said.

In 2017, Prof. Avoke was instructed to vacate his post until a case against him and the University Council by Supi Kofi Kwayera was determined.

The plaintiff alleged and cited financial and procurement irregularities by Prof. Avoke.

He also claimed that the University Council’s mandate expired in 2013; however, the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council.

The University interdicted Prof. Avoke and four others after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had disappeared.

A fact-finding committee that was set up to look into the matter suggested the dismissal of the officers in August 2018.

The decision by the University’s Governing Council was described by many as politically motivated.

But on February 2, 2022, the Winneba High Court ordered the University to reinstate Prof. Avoke as Vice-Chancellor.

His four other colleagues; the Finance Officer, Dr Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng were also asked to be reinstated to their former grade.

The Court also ruled that their salary arrears must be paid from the date they were removed from their respective positions.