Jurors in Western Region strike over 13-months unpaid allowances

Over fifty High Court jurors from the Western Region have embarked on an indefinite strike over 13 months of unpaid allowances.

Speaking to Citi News, a member of the jurors, Jonathan Ofori Karah, said efforts to get their allowances paid have not yielded any positive result hence their decision to stop sitting on criminal cases where their services are needed until they are paid.

Court proceedings at the Sekondi High Court have been adjourned indefinitely as a result of the strike.

One of the aggrieved jurors, Jonathan Ofori said “From February 2022 till now, we have not been given anything. As jurors, when you sit on any case, you are entitled to an allowance and so imagine if I had sat on four cases in a month and for thirteen months, I have not been paid anything. We have taken a decision that until the government pays us all the thirteen months’ arrears, we will not sit on any case.”

The Western Regional High Court Registrar, Ernest Sovor admitted that close to sixty of the jurors are owed in the region, but processes are in place to clear the arrears.

“The matter has been communicated to the Office of the Chief Justice, and it is being worked on,” he said.