On Monday, April 17, several High Courts located at the Law Court Complex in Accra were brought to a halt following a strike by jurors over unpaid allowances. The strike affected cases such as 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 absence of one juror, as per the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), was enough to halt court proceedings.
Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court, sitting as an additional High Court judge, adjourned the case of the 14 accused persons to May 8, 2023, after one of the seven jurors failed to show up. In the case of the Kasoa boy murder, the presiding judge, Justice Lydia Marfo, adjourned the case to the next day after two of the jurors did not show up. Justice Marfo warned the jurors to appear before the court for the continuation of the trial.
In another case before Justice Marfo, five of the seven jurors failed to show up for the trial. The presiding judge ordered the Registrar of the Court to write to the superiors of the absentee jurors to produce the jurors and show cause for their absence.
The jury system is employed in Ghana for offences that are tried on indictment, such as capital offences like murder and first-degree felonies like rape, manslaughter, and narcotics. Juries in Ghana are composed of seven individuals randomly selected from a list mainly composed of civil servants. Many stakeholders in the criminal justice system have criticized the jury system for causing undue delays in trials since the absence of a single juror stalls proceedings.
In conclusion, the strike by jurors over unpaid allowances has halted court proceedings, causing delays in cases such as the Major Mahama murder trial and the Kasoa boy murder case. The absence of even one juror is enough to stall court proceedings, which highlights the need for the government to address the issue of unpaid allowances to ensure the smooth running of the criminal justice system in Ghana.