Tsatsu Tsikata Calls for Reparations for SALL Residents Over ‘Historic Injustice’
- Legal practitioner Tsatsu Tsikata has called for reparations for residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL).
- He argued that they were denied representation in Ghana’s 8th Parliament following the 2020 general elections
- He blamed the situation on the creation of the Oti Region under Constitutional Instrument 112, which he said left the communities without an MP for four years
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Renowned legal practitioner Tsatsu Tsikata has called for reparations for residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL).
Speaking at an honourific lecture and awards ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, he argued that the people of SALL were unjustly denied representation in Ghana’s 8th Parliament during the 2020 general elections.
Source: UGC
According to him, this situation stemmed from the creation of the Oti Region under Constitutional Instrument 112, which left the SALL areas without a Member of Parliament for four years.
In a report by Citi News, Tsikata further contended that subsequent administrative changes, including the creation of the Guan Constituency ahead of the 2024 elections, do not sufficiently address the harm caused.
“It cannot be said that the subsequent creation of a Guan District and a Guan Constituency are sufficient to remedy the injustice to the people of SALL,” he said. “For one thing, the mere denomination of a district and a constituency does not provide the development resources that are the legitimate aspiration of the people.”
The renowned Ghanaian lawyer insisted that the residents of SALL were deprived of development opportunities due to their lack of representation in Parliament.
“For the period they lacked representation in Parliament and their share of the resources that could have been available through a Member of Parliament, I dare say they are owed reparation,” Tsikata added.
Describing the SALL situation as an “historic injustice”, lawyer Tsikata placed the blame squarely at the doorstep of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.
He accused the EC of preventing eligible voters in the area from participating in the 2020 parliamentary election.
“Please remember that the EC itself has admitted that it would have been illegal to have asked the voters in those areas to vote in the Buem Constituency in December 2020. Yet, that is what the Constitutional Instrument, which the EC has claimed in its defence to the election petition, to be the applicable instrument, provided,” he stated.
According to him, the issue remains subject to judicial resolution, explaining that the affected residents continue to seek redress over their exclusion from the electoral process.
What is SALL about?
Prior to the 2020 general elections in Ghana, residents of the SALL enclave, which comprises the traditional areas of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi, were denied the opportunity to vote in the parliamentary election, despite participating in the presidential election.
As a result, the SALL area lacked representation in the Ghanaian Parliament for four years, between January 7, 2021 and January 6, 2025.
In November 2020, just a month before the election, the SALL areas were moved from the Jasikan District to the newly created Guan District.
Under Ghanaian law (Act 936), a Member of Parliament (MP) cannot serve in two different District Assemblies.
Since SALL was now in a new district, the residents could no longer legally vote for an MP in the Buem Constituency, which remained under the Jasikan District.
To allow the people of SALL to participate in the parliamentary election, a new constituency, Guan, had to be legally created.
However, due to time constraints, the EC was unable to lay the necessary Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) before Parliament for the establishment of the Guan Constituency.
The EC explained that it could not lay the C.I. because Parliament had gone on recess on November 9, 2020, the same day the Guan District was created.
Source: Facebook
Fiifi calls for EC heads sacking
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that Fiifi Kwetey, the General Secretary of the NDC, had called for a complete overhaul of the Electoral Commission leadership.
He cited the SALL case as a major reason for the removal of the EC Chair, Jean Mensa and her deputies.
Kwetey stated that the denial of voting rights to residents of the SALL enclave during the 2020 parliamentary elections is the "biggest crime" against democracy.
Source: YEN.com.gh
