Engineer and Policy Analyst, Michael Kosi Dedey, has expressed deep concern over the delay in administering justice in Ghana, warning that the persistent slow pace of the judicial system is eroding public confidence.
Mr. Dedey described as worrying the growing trend where people who are wronged are often told to “go to court” — a phrase he said reflects diminishing faith in the judiciary.
He explained that such remarks suggest that many Ghanaians no longer believe they will receive timely or fair outcomes from the courts.
“It is important for judges to know that justice delayed is justice denied. So, in that context, every Ghanaian should be worried because you hear a lot of people these days — when something happens, when somebody deliberately or unconsciously does something to you or offends you — he says, ‘Go to court.’
“Why is everybody saying that? Because they have a strong belief that the court system is either unfair or very slow, so you won’t get justice. Somebody deliberately acts in a manner and asks you to go to court. That alone should tell us about our judicial system — that people do not trust the system and know that no one can get justice, or that the process can be delayed as long as the person wants. It is a very worrying trend and must be looked at,” he said.
Mr. Dedey further cautioned that if the delays in concluding cases are not addressed, Ghanaians could increasingly resort to mob justice instead of seeking redress in court.
“We need a fair and stable judicial system to help in promoting business and in ensuring that people have trust in the system and that it doesn’t result in violence. Once people begin to have bad feelings about the judicial system, anger builds up, and one day it erupts — and that’s why you have mob actions, because they feel that sending this person [to court] is not going to help us; we must deal with the person right here.
“I think that is the chaos we are creating with these trials and delays in finishing cases,” Kosi Dedey cautioned.
His comments follow the decision by the Madina District Court to discharge the accused in the murder case of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale, after a directive from the Attorney General’s Office.
Ahmed Suale, a key member of the Tiger Eye P.I. investigative team, was shot and killed in January 2019 by unknown assailants — an incident that sparked national outrage and demands for justice.
