Amidst the raging national conversations regarding the destructive effects of illegal mining in the country, Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has appealed to the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo to facilitate hearing of cases pending in court.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Judges and Magistrates in Accra, Godfred Yeboah Dame, while lamenting about the slow pace of justice called on the Chief Justice to direct judges to complete galamsey cases at the courts within a month.
He explained that this will bring justice and help dissuade persons who would want to venture into illegal mining.
“It is beyond argument that the form of illegal mining known as “galamsey” continues to wreak incalculable damage to our forest reserves and river bodies. A major setback to the struggle against galamsey is the rate of adjudication and punishment of offenders.
The deterrence to galamsey sought to be achieved by the amendment to the Minerals and Mining Act in 2019, requiring a punishment of a minimum of 15 years plus a heavy fine in the case of a Ghanaian, and a minimum of 20 years plus a hefty fine for a non-Ghanaian, is not aided by the tardiness of our courts in completing galamsey cases,” said.
Mr Dame noted that “Convictions are secured but they come in trickles. Currently, over 140 cases of illegal mining involving over 850 accused persons are pending in courts in the Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Greater-Accra and Upper East Regions of Ghana. Some have been pending since 2020. This situation cannot be right. We are in an urgent national crisis and all citizens and institutions with any form of role to play must be called to action.”
“Your ladyship, I, therefore, respectfully call on you to direct all judges sitting on galamsey cases to conclude the cases, the hearing of which has started, within one month from the commencement of the legal year on 10th October 2024. Reasonably, it can be done,” he appealed.
The Attorney-General explained that “if most of these cases are completed within a month, it will go a long way in delivering justice for the heinous harm caused to the people by the devastating act.
He urged politicians to “desist from encouraging galamsey through their rhetoric and actions. Those who preach amnesty for galamsey offenders must be rejected. There should be no place for the grant of amnesty for such crimes in our body politic as the lives of citizens and future of our nation are at risk.”
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