Jurors in Ashanti Region declare indefinite strike over unpaid allowances

The Jurors Association in the Ashanti Region have declared an indefinite strike over their 13 months of unpaid allowances.

According to the Foreman General for the association, Mr Albert Ackah, some of their members have not received their allowances from January 2022.

He said, they officially petitioned the High Court Supervising Judge on April 27, 2023, concerning the allowance and copied the Former Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah, and the Judicial Service.

Mr Ackah said they were assured that the allowances would be paid before the end of May 2023 but the promise failed to materialise.

The government, he said, has acted in bad faith hence their decision to embark on the strike.

He, therefore, stressed that they will not return to work until the government pays all their allowances.

This action will bring some court proceedings at various courts in the Ashanti Region to a halt.

In April of this year, jurors in Accra embarked on a similar action over the same reason.

Some of the cases affected by the strike included the trial of the 14 persons accused of killing Major Maxwell Adam Mahama and the trial of two teenagers alleged to have murdered an 11–year-old boy at Kasoa.

The jurors in Ghana’s justice system determine whether an accused person is guilty of an offence he or she has been charged with, based on the evidence presented in court, while the judge passes a sentence based on the verdict of the jury.

The jury system is employed in Ghana for offences that are tried on indictment.

Such offences include capital offences such as murder and first-degree felonies such as rape, manslaughter and narcotics.

Juries in Ghana are composed of seven individuals randomly selected from a list composed mainly, if not exclusively, of civil servants.