The Ashanti Regional branch of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has called on the police administration to beef up security at the various courts.
JUSAG says such measure will prevent litigants from attacking or disrupting court proceedings as it occurred on Thursday at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Court.
Members of a vigilante group affiliated to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Delta Force, stormed the KMA Circuit Court and freed members who were facing charges for causing disturbances at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council. The group allegedly vandalized some court properties and almost assaulted the presiding judge, Madam Mary Senkyire.
The judge had ruled that the arraigned members be remanded to appear before court on April 20after charges of conspiracy to assault a public officer and causing unlawful damage.
Numbering 13, they were detained in connection with the raiding of the Regional Coordinating Council on March 24, 2017 and alleged to have assaulted the newly appointed Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei.
But the judge’s decision to remand the suspects did not go down well with other members present as they decided not to allow the ruling to stand, asking the 13 accused to follow them out of the court.
Speaking on the issue with Onua FM’s Ghana Dadwene on Thursday, the Ashanti Regional Administrator of JUSAG, Nowell Francis Agodzo, explained that “I was not present when the incidence occurred but the report I had is that they were remanded.
They couldn’t be taken into police custody”. He said “the law will continue to take its course but we believe if there were more police men at the court, it should have been better. It should not have happen”.
Mr. Agodzo therefore called on the police administration to increase their numbers in various courts.
