Her Worship Awo French Amissah, the Nkroful district court magistrate, has been exposed for hiding the actual truth behind her relocation from an official residence.
Contrary to claims by the Judicial Service that the magistrate relocated because her safety, security and health were being threatened by ongoing illegal mining activities behind her bungalow, the Ellembele District Assembly insists she was not in any danger.
According to Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh, the DCE, information available to his office indicates that the purported threat is only being used as a ploy by the magistrate to move out of the official residence with the divisional police commander as an immediate neighbour.
By relocating, the DCE says French Amissah will continue enjoying rent allowance from the Judicial Service which she had been directed to forfeit as long as she continues living in a government bungalow.
In a letter dated July 14 and dispatched to the assembly on 26th, the Judicial Service lamented that “ongoing” day and night illegal mining behind the magistrate’s official bungalow is affecting her health as she can neither sleep nor rest.
Signed by Diana Naana Asiam, Regional Administrative Officer, it stated that the situation keeps worsening and that French_Amissah cannot continue putting her life at risk by staying in that bungalow.
This letter went viral on social media days before the assembly even received its copy.
At a press conference on Friday after conducting journalists around the bungalow now occupied by the court registrar, DCE Bonzoh wondered whether the life of the new occupant is also not in danger.
He reiterated that the magistrate’s relocation was motivated by monetary gain and that the fact that the letter was copied to financial units within the Service, even gives credence to this.
The DCE further indicated that not even a single security agency was copied and wondered why if the magistrate’s life was actually in danger.
Throwing more light on the issue, Mr Bonzoh recalled that some youth contracted months back to dredge river Broma as part of construction works on a bridge 200 kilometres away from the bungalow, and took undue advantage of the situation to engage in illegal mining.
He said the assembly was unhappy about it and dragged them to court with some chiefs even coming in to plead on their behalf.
The DCE said it eventually took a joint task force to halt activities of these dredgers turned galamseyers on June 9.
He regretted that in spite of French Ammisah’s complaints about the effect of illegal mining on her safety, security and health, she never collaborated with the assembly and the police in fighting this menace.
Instead of punishing culprits arraigned before her court to serve as a deterrent to others, Mr. Bonzoh said the magistrate chose to treat them with kids’ gloves.
He also accused her of failing to jail even a single culprit out of the fifteen anti-galamsey operations that the assembly had embarked on in the last three years.
The DCE cited a recent instance where twenty-three illegal miners arrested and arraigned before the court, were set free the next day with paid fines refunded to them.
He also cited an April 2, 2020 incident where the District Security Council arrested two suspects after an operation at illegal sites at Anwia and Nkroful and sent them to court to be remanded in police custody for further investigations.
Mr. Bonzoh said the court however went ahead granting them bail and described this attitude as “very strange” after assurance by the Inspector General of Police that the magistrate will continue to be protected twenty-four hours a day from conducting her work without any fear or favour.
He bemoaned that lenient treatment of galamseyers by the court has emboldened them and also rendered the fight against this menace in Ellembele very difficult and unsuccessful.
” For the Nkroful magistrate court to treat illegal miners with kids” gloves and turn round accusing the assembly of failing to stop the menace is hypocritical”, the DCE added.
