Members of the legal fraternity in the Upper West Region, alongside state prosecutors, have registered fierce displeasure over the stalled construction of the multi-million-cedi regional High Court complex, describing the deserted site as a “cemetery” after two decades of dashed hopes.

The regional leadership of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Office of the Attorney General revealed that despite high-profile inspections and firm commitments given by national delegations, the three-storey court structure has once again been abandoned by the contractor, leaving the regional capital without a single purpose-built modern courtroom.

Visiting the deserted project grounds on Friday, legal practitioners expressed dismay that equipment had been packed off, leaving open gates, uninstalled fittings exposed to theft, and fresh paint peeling off exterior walls just three months after application.

Chairman of the Ghana Bar Association in the Upper West Region, Siddique Ubeidu, warned that members fear for their lives daily due to the worsening decay of the makeshift buildings currently housing justice delivery in the region.

“You will recall that this work was started almost 20 years ago, and it has been one reason or excuse for another,” Siddique Ubeidu stated.

“Our national executive committee of the GBA was here on the 1st of April and was given assurances that within three to four months, the building would be completed.

Subsequently, the Chief Justice sent another team led by a Supreme Court judge, Justice Yonny Kulendi, alongside all directors from the Judicial Service, assuring us it would be available for use within two to three months.”
“Here we are today, 4th September, and the place is a cemetery. If you look at the way they packed their equipment, there is no sign that they will be back anytime soon.

What is even more worrying is that the paint done less than three months ago has started peeling off, pointing to the suspect quality of the work,” he added.

According to the bar president, a visit inside the operational Wa Circuit Court exposes severe structural deterioration that poses a daily hazard to occupants.

“We feel very depressed and disappointed, and we even fear for our lives. You can see gaping, life-threatening cracks inside the judge's chambers and the courtroom. Staff have no offices and compete with litigants inside the courtroom, even eating their meals there.

"Years ago, former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo came to town and threatened to shut the court down due to its state, yet nothing was done while the population grew,” Siddique Ubeidu lamented.

Principal State Attorney, Upper West Region, Saeed Abdul-Shakur, described the state of affairs as a national embarrassment that borders on institutional neglect of the region. “It didn’t take China 20 years to build the Three Gorges Dam, nor Dubai 10 years to build the Burj Khalifa.

Why is it taking a whole nation 20 years to set up just a three-storey building for a court complex?” Saeed Abdul-Shakur queried. “We are serving 11 districts, yet the High Court, District Court, and Circuit Court are all operating out of colonial and temporary makeshift structures.

We thought the visits by the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Chief Justice’s delegation meant light at the end of the tunnel, without knowing it was an oncoming train bound to crash the justice system.

We cannot be delivering justice under trees,” the Principal State Attorney stated, stressing that lawyers and litigants travel from Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale to litigate in Wa.

Weighing in on the missed schedules, Acting Secretary, Ghana Bar Association, Upper West Region, Crispin Wura-Sey Ziekah, warned that the continuous delays have left vital court infrastructure compromised. “Are we waiting for our courts to collapse before we complete this structure?” Crispin Wura-Sey Ziekah questioned.

“At the District Court, a magistrate has to wait in his vehicle until proceedings are assembled before stepping inside. We were assured the new complex would be commissioned during the Bar Conference hosted here last year; it failed.

We were promised we would start the new legal year this October in the complex, but the contractor has packed out completely, and the unsecured gates leave installations vulnerable to vandalism.”

The legal practitioners have appealed directly to the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and the Minister for Justice to step in and compel the contractor and project consultants back to site, demanding that the facility be operationalised to avert a catastrophe in the region's makeshift courtrooms.

Meanwhile, the contractor for the project, Project Seven Limited, has refuted claims that it has abandoned the site. A director of the company, Simon Sowah, speaking to JoyNews, said the company has unpaid certificates pending with the Judicial Service and central government.

According to him, the company will return to the site once the government does the needful and settles its indebtedness.