Expedite hearing on galamsey cases - Attorney-General to judges

The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called on the Chief Justice to direct all judges hearing galamsey cases to conclude them within one month. 

He said that would go a long way towards delivering justice for the heinous harm caused to the people by the devastating act.

Mr Dame was speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates and Judges Ghana (AMJG) in Accra yesterday on the theme: “Improving the Security and Welfare of the Judiciary for Effective Justice Delivery".

Slow pace

The A-G said the trial of illegal mining cases was one of the categories of cases that progressed at a slow pace as illegal mining continued to cause incalculable damage to the country’s forest reserves and rivers.

Giving further details, Mr Dame said currently, more than 140 cases of illegal mining involving over 850 accused persons were pending in courts in the Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Greater Accra and Upper East regions.

He disclosed that some of the cases had been pending since 2020.

“This situation cannot be right. We are in an urgent national crisis and all citizens and institutions with any form of role to play must be called to action,” he said, calling on the Chief Justice to direct judges hearing such cases to conclude same within one month from the commencement of the legal year from October 10 this year.

In the same vein, he called on politicians to desist from encouraging galamsey through their rhetoric and actions.

“Those who preach amnesty for galamsey offenders must be rejected. There should be no place for the grant of amnesty for such crimes in our body politic as the lives of citizens and future of our nation are at risk,” Mr Dame added. 

Protestors

The A-G said the state would prosecute acts of protestors which threatened essential services, infringed on the right to free movement or attacked the safety of security forces this election year.

He explained that such acts could endanger the entire society as they had the tendency to destroy the peace of the nation.

Mr Dame said there were attempts by some people to create tension ahead of the elections and instil fear into people through demonstrations which, in some cases, were what he described as a ruse for mounting an attack on the security forces and disrupting the running of essential public services.

That, he said, would not be countenanced in any democracy, adding, “In any advanced democracy, when protestors exceed the limits of free expression and show disregard to their communities and the safety of their own lives and that of other members of the community - irrespective of the motives for the protests embarked on - they face the rigours of the law”.

To buttress his point, the A-G cited instances such as the case of an anti-abortion activist, who blocked access to a clinic in Washington DC and livestreamed the blockade on Facebook and was sentenced to nearly five years in prison last year.

He, however, called on the police to swiftly conclude investigations in the case involving the Democracy Hub protesters by the next adjourned date.

He said that would help the state to exclude by the next date all those against whom sufficient evidence cannot be found to proceed further.

The A-G  also advised the prosecution to consider relevant bail applications made at the next adjourned dates of the case.

Delay in cases

The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, said in some instances the delays in the adjudication of cases were caused by the prosecutors.

She, however, implored the judges to do away with the model of fixing cases ‘for mention’ completely.

“No matter how tall a cause list is, my sincere view is that with the inclusion of witness statements as a necessary part of the trial process in both civil and criminal cases, there is no need for a court to adjourn a case after the case management conferences for ‘mention’.

“My firm view developed from 20 years of sitting as a trial judge and appellate judge is that it should not be the norm that parties are made to dress up, leave their businesses, spend money travelling, and spend time just sitting in a court premise only to hear the title of their case called out and told to come back another date. This should be the exceptional situation,” she added.

The Chief Justice further called on the judges to sanitise work delivery in order to serve justice expeditiously, adding that delaying cases feeds into the negative narrative about the country’s jurisdiction and acts as a disincentive to investors.

“That lack of investment leaves the entire nation, including public services, poorer,” she said.

On infrastructure, Chief Justice Torkornoo announced that active steps were being taken to start the renovation and remodelling of the built facilities so they could be used to serve the justice needs of the country.

Welfare

The President of AMJG, Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, lamented the delay in the payment of allowances to members of the bench.

He said aside from the delay in paying medical, fuel and vehicle maintenance allowances, salaries for judges had not been adjusted in the last four years, a situation which did not augur well for people expected to discharge their duties with integrity.

“As we talk about work and keeping our integrity, seriously I think these concerns need to be addressed,” he said.

He further called on the government to beef up security for judges since the police officers currently attached to them only accompanied the judges to the court and to their various homes.