Upper East lacks magistrates

Bolgatanga, Sept. 10, GNA - Only one out of the six District Magistrates' Courts in the Upper East Region has a sitting magistrate, a situation that retards the dispensation of justice in the Region. Even though all the essential structures are in place in the Bongo, Kassena-Nanakana, Builsa, Bawku East and Bawku West Districts including supporting staffs there are no sitting magistrates and cases are sent to Circuit Courts in Bolgatanga and Bawku.

Investigations the GNA conducted in Bolgatanga indicated that even though judicial staffs in the aforementioned districts received salaries at the end of every month they hardly did anything to merit those salaries.

In an interview with some staffs of the Judicial Service in Bolgatanga, they argued that as employees of the Service it was not part of their responsibility to appoint magistrates for the courts.

Mr Justice Paungyli, Regional Secretary of the Judicial Service Association of Ghana (JUSAG), said the Circuit Court Judge in Bawku, Mr Jacob Boon doubles as the Magistrate for the Bawku West District and has apportioned dates for sitting in the two courts.

Mr Paungyli said Mr Gabriel Odame Adufu, the Bolgatanga District Magistrate, doubles as a magistrate for the Kassena-Nankana District and has also apportioned sitting periods for the two courts.

The GNA further observed that most of the staffs in the District Magistrate's Courts without sitting magistrates have resorted to doing private businesses to earn more income instead of idling about.

Some members of the public interviewed expressed concern about the way the Judicial Service was being manned.

Mr Gamel Atsyor, a Computer Instructor at Sapaco Systems, a Computer Training School in Bolgatanga, suggested that more lawyers should be appointed and posted to man courts in the rural areas. He said where lawyers were not willing to take such appointments staff of the Judicial Service could be trained to take up such posts. The GNA further observed that there are no courts in the Region to try juvenile cases.

Mr Gabriel Odame Adufu, Bolgatanga District Magistrate, said it is a constitutional mandate that a juvenile court be established in all the districts to hear child-related offences.