Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has urged the judiciary to make arrangements for courts to hear bail applications despite the ongoing strike by members of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG).
He says the continued closure of the courts to such applications is worrying, as it risks keeping arrested persons in custody longer and undermining their constitutional right to personal liberty.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM, Mr Kpebu acknowledged efforts by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resolve the dispute and encouraged both parties to sustain negotiations.
However, he insisted that bail applications should not be held up because of the industrial action, arguing that the courts must make temporary adjustments to ensure access to justice.
Mr Kpebu cited a December 2019 Supreme Court decision in the case of Martin Kpebu v Attorney-General, which he said established that bail applications should continue to be heard during a strike by judicial staff, provided judges themselves were not on strike.
He maintained that personal liberty should not be made dependent on the availability of court staff.
“The Supreme Court has said that personal liberty is priceless. You cannot make a person’s liberty subject to the availability of Judicial Service staff,” he said.
The lawyer proposed that police officers could be deployed to provide security at court premises while judges make use of available resources, including laptops, to process applications.
He acknowledged that judges might have to undertake some administrative tasks usually handled by professional court clerks but said the extraordinary circumstances required flexibility.
“Some of the judges have laptops and can type, so they can do that, even though it may not be at the level of professional clerks. But just because we are not in normal times, we must adjust,” he said.
Mr Kpebu warned that the strike was creating difficulties for arrested persons who are expected to be brought before the courts within 48 hours of their arrest.
He said the situation could affect thousands of people across the country’s 16 regions if urgent measures were not taken to facilitate bail applications.
“This is a very serious matter. Very, very serious. I’m sure if we counted the figures around the country, we are likely to get them going into thousands,” he said.
He further disclosed that his inquiries suggested the Chief Justice was taking steps to address the matter in line with the Supreme Court’s directive.
“I know the Chief Justice is taking steps to resolve the strike. They are negotiating very well, and I will encourage them to continue with the negotiations. But we must also open the courts for bail applications because people’s freedom and liberty are being trampled upon,” he added.
