The lack of police prosecutors at the lower courts in the Ho Municipality in the Volta Region is hampering the delivery of justice in the municipality.
The situation has also become a bonanza for some unscrupulous policemen who charge suspects huge sums of money before granting them bail.
When the suspects are unable to pay the money allegedly demanded by the police, they send them back into cells.
This came to light when the Daily Graphic visited the District Magistrate’s and Circuit courts in Ho to see what pertained there.
A suspect was heard complaining that because he could not afford the amount the police demanded from him, he was being forced back into cells. According to him, he had already given GHҐ20 he had on him to the police the previous day but they were requesting for more.
The suspect, who was weeping, said because he could not meet their demand, the police were sending him back to the cells.
Many allegations were made against the police for misconduct or discriminatory treatment.
A judge, Mr Ernest Yao Obimpeh, said last year, three prosecutors working in his court left their jobs for various reasons including sickness, transfers and retirement.
He said since then cases had piled up at the courts without any prosecutor to present suspects thus delaying the delivery of justice.
Mr Obimpeh said currently, there was only one prosecutor working at the court who had still not recovered fully from sickness to handle cases at the two circuit courts.
He said several appeals had been made to the state prosecuting agencies — the police and the Attorney General’s Department — but to no avail.
Mr Obimpeh said most of the cases on hand were narcotic drugs related, defilement and stealing, which needed to be heard with dispatch.
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