The Government of Ghana has been condemned by a former Foreign Service Officer and Lawyer for "unilaterally and illegally" suspending Ghana's diplomatic recognition for Western Sahara or the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) hours before leaving office.
Ghana's outgone Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey announced via a signed statement on 6th January 2025 that Ghana has suspended relations with the SADR. The decision drew both domestic and international criticism, with many questioning Ghana's motives and alignment in the decades-long territorial dispute between Morocco and the Sahrawi Republic. In an article on the matter, legal practitioner and activist Oliver Barker Vormawor who served as Foreign Service Officer under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry's action hours before handing over power to a new government was illegal and bizarre and urged the new John Mahama government to restore relations. He said the action by Akufo-Addo's government amounts to "pressing the diplomatic self-destruct button in the most bizarre circumstances.
I am also concerned that it raises serious concerns on several grounds: legal, democratic, diplomatic, and historical".
He wrote: "While It is true that Ghana's Constitution places foreign policy decisions under the Executive's purview, it does so with clear constraints to safeguard democratic accountability.
