In an interview with JoyNews, Justice Atuguba recounted that during his time as a Supreme Court justice, he attempted to mobilize his colleagues to play a role in combating galamsey, but he did not receive the necessary support.
He revealed that he once travelled to a gold mining region and saw a brownish-looking river, which made him realize the extent of the problem.
Atuguba remarked that he felt judges should not sit idly while the country suffered from the effects of te scourge and attempted to gather support to address the issue within the judiciary.
However, he laughed as he explained that he did not receive the necessary backing.
“That’s a big worry to me because what does it mean? That a whole Ghanaian state is unable to eradicate this menace. It hasn’t got the capacity? How shocking? You have the army and the police and they can’t put down this menace. The whole state of Ghana? Wonderful!" he exclaimed.
"Let me confess, when I was on the bench, one day I was going to Kumasi, and I used to hear that the water bodies were polluted. Then on the way, we saw some river flowing; and it was like clay. It wasn’t water. So when I came back I said this is the reality.
“So, I started telling my colleagues that normally judges don’t act on their own, but we shouldn’t sit down and see the country dying like this. Let us summon the people who should have put down this menace and order them to do it. Well, I didn’t get support; but I understand. I think that I was going too far” he said.
Justice Atuguba acknowledged that the common law is shaped by judges and can evolve to address societal challenges and problems.
He emphasized that his intention was to take action and order those responsible for addressing the galamsey menace, but his retirement came before he could pursue the matter further.
Despite President Akufo-Addo's commitment to ending galamsey, the destructive activities persist in various parts of the country.
GA/SARA
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Former Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atuguba