Former Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atuguba, has expressed his disappointment at the lack of support from his colleagues in tackling the issue of ‘galamsey’.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews, he recounted how on one of his trips to Kumasi, he observed that the River Pra, was polluted with clay and went sparking concerns about it to his colleagues but he was paid no attention.
“Once I was traveling to Kumasi and I think it’s the River Pra I saw the water in it there was clay so when I came back I told my colleagues this thing is very serious let’s put conservatism aside” he said.
He expressed his belief that while judges are traditionally bound to remain neutral until approached by litigating parties, the judiciary has a greater role to play in addressing urgent societal issues.
“So no principle should be regarded as fixed for all time. Even the most important book the Bible which is the most sacrosanct the most authoritative law what did Jesus say, he said the law is made for man not man for law” he added.
Justice Atuguba revealed that he had urged his fellow legal professionals and leaders to join him in calling on the authorities to address the menace but unfortunately he didn’t get enough support with it.
He added that he was however not surprised about the turnout of events and feels he went too far in terms of being proactive.
“That requires quite fundamental leap like judicial processes and others which is not so easy to let people fall for” he disclosed.
