‘Ghana Jollof’ case: Why continue to use remand to punish people? – Vera Addo

The Programmes Officer at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Vera Abena Addo has raised concerns over declining public confidence in Ghana’s police service, warning that the continued erosion of trust in key state institutions could undermine public confidence in the justice system. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, on the recent ‘Ghana Jollof’ case, Ms Addo said the police and the courts are among the institutions that interact most frequently with ordinary citizens, making public trust in their work particularly important. “We need to trust our institutions.” She noted that public confidence in both the police and the courts appears to be low, despite the fact that these institutions play a critical role in ensuring justice and protecting citizens’ rights.

“If you look at, especially the court, the police, consistently their trust level is low, but they also are the people that continue to interact with the everyday Ghanaian.” Ms Addo said the concern becomes more serious when members of the public are uncertain about whether they will receive fair treatment when they come into contact with law-enforcement or judicial institutions. “If we don’t trust that we’ll get justice in court, if the police can even do this, when they take the person or when you are taken to another layer of our governance structure, then you expect that at least for the courts, you have the court to listen to you.” She was particularly critical of the use of remand in cases involving political speech, arguing that Ghana’s criminal justice system must be careful not to turn remand into a form of punishment before a case has been determined. “We continue to use remand to punish in our judicial or our criminal system.” According to Ms Addo, the justice system must exercise particular caution when cases involve freedom of expression and political speech because the manner in which such cases are handled could establish precedents for future governments and citizens.

“Our criminal system, our judicial system must be very much careful, especially when political speech is involved, because we keep doing this every now and then.” She also expressed frustration over conflicting accounts surrounding the Ghana Jollof case, saying the manner in which information is communicated by authorities can leave the public uncertain about what to believe.