The dilapidated structures at the Accra Central District Courts
The Chief Justice has carried through her threat to shut down lower courts that are in deplorable condition and do not meet the standards of edifices for justice delivery in the country.
Justice Sophia Akuffo has ordered the closure of the Accra Central District Courts with immediate effect due to their deplorable nature.
The closure follows the inability of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to identify buildings that are fit for purpose to relocate the Accra Central District Court, a statement signed by the Judicial Secretary, Cynthia Pamela Addo, stated.
In October last year, the Chief Justice stressed the need for the country’s law courts, especially the lower courts, to be given the necessary facelift to enhance the dispensation of justice and maintenance of peace.
According to her, the Judiciary will not continue to accept “horrible working environment which has become a pain in the neck of the Judicial Service.
In March 2018, she threatened to shut down dilapidated courts by June that year because some of them were not in good condition in the 21st century.
She made the disclosure after she visited some district courts in Accra Central, Latebiokorshie, Kaneshie, Weija and Tema.
When she visited the Upper East Region in May, she once gain threatened to shut down the Wa District Court within six months if the district assembly fails to find a suitable location for the court which was sharing a small structure with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA).
But nothing has been done to improve the courts, some of which can be described as death traps because of their deplorable nature.
The CJ has now given an order for the Accra Central District Courts to be closed following the failure of the AMA to find suitable replacements.
Subsequently, cases at the Accra Central District Courts have been transferred to the Kaneshie District Courts 1 and 2, as well as the Adjabeng District Court.
It’s not clear when the Accra Central District Courts would be reopened.
By Gibril Abdul Razak