The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has begun work to recover documents on investigations destroyed in a fire outbreak at its headquarters in Accra.

The commission has started writing to institutions and individuals who submitted documents on ongoing investigations to re-submit them to the commission.

Fire in December last year destroyed eleven offices of the commission including its anti-corruption unit, destroying documents covering its ongoing investigations.

Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ Joseph Whittal says only documents covering ongoing investigations were destroyed in the fire.

Documents on completed investigations were left intact because the fire did not spread to the registry department where archived documents are kept.

He told Joy news’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo though the quality of investigations will not be compromised, the deadline for its completion would be extended.

“I can assure you the investigations have not been compromised, but the (delay) is what a fire disaster or an emergency means to an institution. You would have to be set back some few months”, he stated.

He says although CHRAJ has the power to subpoena various institutions and persons to submit the documents to the commission, it has not become necessary to use those powers because they are cooperating.

“The files that have been burnt, we are writing to institutions and to persons who we were dealing with, to re-supply to us documents that were with us. And I am saying that we are getting the cooperation of these institutions and individuals, and the documents are coming back to shape”, he said.