PHOTOS: Court activities come to a halt
Some litigants, friends and family members have been left stranded behind the closed gates of some High and Circuit Courts across the country.
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This follows the declaration of an indefinite strike by the Judicial Staff Association of Ghana over their unpaid allowances.
Graphic Online’s Vincent Amenunuve reports from Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region that the offices and gates of the High and Circuit Courts were locked leaving only one security man at post to guard the place.
He reports that a group of clients including some police personnel had gathered in front of the premises of the courts and were discussing the issue.
One of the clients, Mr.Joseph Achana told Graphic Online that he was supposed to report for a case on Wednesday only to see that the whole place had been locked.
He said because of that his lawyer decided to travel back to Accra and report only if the courts resume work.
According to Mr.Achana although he was not disappointed at the strike by the Judicial Service he was only worried that it would further drag issues and cause unnecessary delays as he and other clients who found themselves in the same situation would have to go for new dates to be heard in court.
Emmanuel Adu-Gyemerah reports from the Brong Ahafo Region that the Sunyani High Court that a long red band hanged in front of the court with many litigants and their lawyers hanging around the premises.
In an interview with Graphic Online, the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of JUSAG, Mr Ernest Boakye Afram, expressed unhappiness about how the government had treated members of the association.
According to him, the government had breached a constitutional provision regarding the payments of staff under the Judiciary.
“These allowances need no parliamentary approval for its payment; it’s due us and until the government pays the money, we are not calling off the strike”, he stated.
Mr Afram explained that Article 127 (Section 6) of the 1992 Constitution enforced the government to ensure that payments due the staff of the judiciary were paid to enable them to perform their duties.
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From Wa, Michael Quaye reports that both the High and Circuit Courts in the Upper West Region are empty as court staff failed to show up at work.
In an interview with the State Attorney, Mr Saeed Abdul Shaqur said the country’s justice system remains in limbo under the current uncertainty that surrounds the industrial action by the judicial service.
He said he turned up at the High Court only to find the premises locked.
He therefore appealed to the appropriate authorities to act quickly to save what has become an emergency for Ghana's justice system.