Blame Prosecutors For Delayed Galamsey Cases Chief Justice

The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has said the delay in the determination of galamsey cases emanate from the work of prosecutors and not the bench.

In a swift rebuttal to a call by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, regarding the slow pace of such cases in the courts, Chief Justice Torkornoo said: “On the issue of delays in galamsey cases, the Attorney-General will acknowledge that our engagements have shown that the delays emanate from the work of prosecutors”.

She provided the response during her remarks at last Wednesday’s Annual General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates and Judges, Ghana (AMJG) in Accra, where

Mr Dame had earlier given participants updates on the number of pending galamsey cases and called on the Chief Justice to direct judges to finish the cases in one month.

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The two-day conference was on the theme: “Improving the security and welfare of the judiciary for effective justice delivery”.

Galamsey

With many of the country’s water bodies polluted by illegal mining, galamsey has become a topical issue with many individuals and groups calling for its outright ban as a measure to halt the environmental degradation.

The Chief Justice, however, implored the judges to do away with the model of fixing cases 'for mention' completely to ensure that cases were determined expeditiously.

"No matter how tall a cause list is, my sincere view is that with the inclusion of witness statements as a essential 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’.graphiconline