Ashanti Region: Adum murder case, nine others halted as jurors abandon court
The leader of the association in the Ashanti Region, Albert Ackah, expressed deep concerns over the delayed payments, citing financial difficulties for its members and their inability to afford transportation to and from the courts
At least 10 high-profile cases could face delays in courts in the Ashanti Region as jurors go on strike effective immediately.
The decision of the jurors comes in response to the Judicial Service’s failure to pay arrears of their allowances since August 2023. The announcement was made in a formal letter addressed to the supervising High Court judge on Wednesday (26 June).
The leader of the association in the Ashanti Region, Albert Ackah, expressed deep concerns over the delayed payments, citing financial difficulties for its members and their inability to afford transportation to and from the courts.
He appealed to the government to address the pressing issue, noting that negotiations with the Chief Justice had proved unfruitful.
“Yes, it is true that we are unable to come to court because of our allowance. Our allowances always delay until we take action before we receive our allowance. This is not good; it is not proper for us to always chase our allowance before we get it.”
“Today, we have nine cases and because we couldn’t come due to non-payment of our allowance, the cases couldn’t come on. So please, I am appealing to the government to release money to the Judicial Service so that they can pay their jurors so that they can return to court. Nobody ever should say that it is the jurors who delay the cases”, Ackah told Asaase News in a telephone interview.
“So, this small, tiny allowance that we receive here, why [do we] always need to follow, talk until these allowances are received?”
Meanwhile, the strike has begun biting as Rosemarie Baah Tosu’s court was compelled to adjourn the case involving Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, the policeman accused of killing his girlfriend at Adum in Kumasi.
The family of Victoria Dapaah is appealing to authorities to help get the striking jurors back to work in the interest of justice. Sitting continues on 10 July.
The case involving the murder of Otumfuo Osei Tutu’s Asamponghene and eight other murder and rape cases being heard at the High Court in Kumasi have also come to a standstill due to the strike by the jurors.
Reporting By Jonathan Ofori and Lordina Agyemang Duah, Asaase Newsroom, Kumasi
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