Avoke promises reconciliation when he returns as VC

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Prof Mawutor Avoke, has has won a court ruling in a dispute over his job has said he will reconcile with the  staff who battled him in court.

The Winneba High Court has ordered the reinstatement of Professor Mawutor Avoke as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The court presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh, also ordered that the four other principal officers, who were also “unlawfully”, dismissed are to be reinstated to their former grade.

They are also to be paid all their salary arrears from the date they were unlawfully removed from their offices, the court ordered on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.

The decision by the court hopefully brings to an end, a five-year legal tussle that had bedeviled the administration of the UEW.

In a statement dated 2nd February 2022, Prof Avoke noted that he will resume duty as directed by the court.

He described the ruling as “a well-reasoned and sound judgment, giving effect to the principle of the rule of law as contained in the preamble of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.”

“Consequently, I genuinely expect that in the coming days, I will return to the office and perform all the duties that come with the office of Vice Chancellor for the next two years.

“Indeed, while I consider this judicial determination a total and final vindication of my position regarding the divisive issues that founded my removal from office, I am clear and certain in my mind that I will not boast over the outcome, no matter how reliving and joyous the judgment may seem,” he stated.

Prof Avoke promised to work in bringing unity to the institution.

“I draw firm and complete inspiration from Nelson Mandela, an African icon who once said, “Reconciliation does not mean forgetting or trying to bury the pain of conflict, but that reconciliation means working together to correct the legacy of past injustice.”

“Further, as a distinguished peacemaker, the late Mandela also once said: “Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear. That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon”.

“Instead, and with the help of the Almighty God, I intend to work every day with all the genuineness of heart, skill, and diligence at my disposal to ensure that complete and total reconciliation is done between me and all the persons who may seem to have been vanquished by today’s judicial determination.”