The Attorney-General has told Ghana’s Supreme Court that the country’s international airport remains legally known as Kotoka International Airport (KIA), despite the government’s announcement of plans to rename it Accra International Airport (AIA).
The government says the proposed change has not taken legal effect because the Accra International Airport Bill, 2026, has yet to be passed by Parliament.
The position was set out in the government’s response to a legal challenge brought by lawyer Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers. He is asking the Supreme Court to declare the renaming unconstitutional, arguing that the government should first amend the General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339).
The decree established a trust in honour of the late Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka.
The Attorney-General rejects the claim that the decree has been breached, maintaining that it remains valid and in force.
In an affidavit sworn by Assistant State Attorney Mamavi Owusu-Aboagye, the government said the public announcement of a proposed name change did not alter the airport’s legal name.
It referred to Exhibit AG8, which lists outstanding measures required before the renaming can be completed. These include amendments to statutory instruments, official documents, signs, digital platforms and aviation publications.
The affidavit said the Accra International Airport Bill, 2026, had completed the Cabinet process, had been signed by the Minister of Transport and was ready to be laid before Parliament.
“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.
The government also said it had not interfered with the Kotoka Trust and that no beneficiary had been deprived of any benefit provided under it.
Bill’s progress
According to the Attorney-General, a draft of the Bill was sent to the Ministry of Transport on August 21, 2025, for submission to Cabinet.
The ministry requested Cabinet approval on November 10, 2025, and that approval was granted on December 9, 2025.
The decision was communicated to the Attorney-General on January 23, 2026, before the Minister for Transport signed the Bill on February 10, 2026.
The Attorney-General is also disputing whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear the case, arguing that the claim does not raise a genuine constitutional question.
The government’s position is that Mr Brako-Powers is alleging a possible breach of NLCD 339, which is a statute rather than part of the Constitution. It says the action is premature because Parliament has not yet considered the Bill.
“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 Attorney-General argued.
The case remains pending.
