Justice has been on sale - Magistrate

Bunso (E/R), Sept. 16, GNA - Mr Charles Bamfo Nimako, the Kibi District Magistrate, has observed that justice had been on sale in the country for a long time but expressed the hope that the situation would improve with current reforms in the Judiciary.

He said: "I hope people can now have justice at the law courts," and lauded the new Chief Justice for moving a step further by establishing a complaints unit to address the concerns of people who felt they were denied justice by the judicial system.

Mr Nimako was speaking at a public lecture to mark the tenth anniversary of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in the East Akim District at Bunso on Monday.

The theme for the anniversary was: "Ten years of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice - Achievements, Prospects and Challenges".

Mr Nimako said although members of the bench were not angels, there was the need for them to act in a way that would make people have confidence in the judicial system.

This, he believed, could help reduce violence in the society adding that despite the existence of the right to a decent living, it could be an illusion if the economy did not improve.

Mr Nimako said the country still depended on traditional export without any effort by the authorities to explore new areas to expand the foreign earning base.

In an answer to a question, he explained that, until the criminal laws and procedures were amended, armed robbers could not be sentenced to death.

Mr James Maprah, East Akim District Director of CHRAJ, said his office had received 164 cases of human rights abuses since 2001 to date out of which 139 were settled.